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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Labrador male - 10 months old. Anyone got them “done” at this age?

16 replies

Elmer83 · 03/12/2021 19:49

We were trying to wait until he was 12 months old but he’s humping everything! Sofas, cushions, dog bed and now he’s started to try humping our 8 year old! Any advice?

OP posts:

lingus · 03/12/2021 20:04

Castration will not stop humping. Humping is usually caused by excitement and being over threshold.

Remove obvious things he humps like cushions etc and distract him when he does it. Replace the humping with a calming activity like a chew toy or kong.

icedcoffees · 03/12/2021 20:13

Even 12 months is too young, you need to wait until they're fully grown, which for labradors is around 18-24 months of age.

Humping is typically behavioural rather than sexual - even if you did get him castrated, it's not guaranteed to cure it. You need to prevent the behaviour from happening in the first place - so, distractions and lots of positive reinforcement for not humping.

StrawberryFizz26 · 03/12/2021 20:25

Could you get him chemically castrated? I did with dpup. It lasts approx 6 months and is a good test to see how they will be when they have the actual op.

Gingerenos · 03/12/2021 21:31

Ours was castrated at 10 months for day care rules, it definitely seemed to help but it could have just been age anyway. He now 3 and does still try and hump his bed (usually after his dinner) but is much more distractable and doesn’t ejaculate, which was pretty grim tbh.

tabulahrasa · 03/12/2021 22:54

I treat it like mouthing, stop, distract, if they’re too intense for that to work, then time out.

It’s not actually a sexual behaviour, it’s over arousal in the same way manic mouthing is, over excitement or over tiredness... or both.

Original poster

Elmer83 · 04/12/2021 08:53

Thank you all so much for your comments. I will continue to wait. Just got his kong toy out ready for the next hump session to occur! 😂

OP posts:

icedcoffees · 04/12/2021 08:57

I'm also a dog walker and all the dogs on my books that hump are actually neutered and I'd say a good few of them are female too.

None of the entire males I walk hump.

Delatron · 05/12/2021 18:21

Our vet told us it’s best to wait until 18 months for labs. Something to do with their growth plates not closing. Which was frustrating as he then couldn’t go to daycare from 12 months. And he also got attacked by other dogs and did lots of humping.

I think we made it to 17 months. It’s frustrating.

Tronkmanton · 05/12/2021 19:12

We had our lab neutered at 10 months. Vet and dog trainer said not an issue at all (we were going to wait) - best thing we did, it immediately stopped humping, massively cut down place mark weeing, and more importantly stopped him running off. Not sure if that’s an issue for you but entire males are much more likely to be run over. Ddog is 3 now and it’s had zero effect on his health or personality.

DottyHarmer · 08/12/2021 10:29

My dog was a new (half) man after he was done. He was howling at various gates on walks, escaping, humping everyone…

How do people cope with the no-neutering before 18-24 months regarding dog boarding/day care? Every single service I have seen demands that dogs are neutered. If you lack willing family/friends, what do you do?

Delatron · 08/12/2021 11:15

We had to pull the dog out of day care which he went to once a week and find a dog Walker willing to take an unneutered dog (which was hard).

DementedPanda · 08/12/2021 11:23

Its down to behaviour. Our lab is 5 now and intact, it's never been a problem. As soon as he got over excited a quick ah ah bed and stay was sufficient to nip the behaviour in the bud. He's never done it beyond puppyhood. All about training I'm afraid. Getting them castrated doesn't stop the humping. And they shouldn't be done before they reach maturity.

Hoppinggreen · 08/12/2021 16:38

@lingus

Castration will not stop humping. Humping is usually caused by excitement and being over threshold.

Remove obvious things he humps like cushions etc and distract him when he does it. Replace the humping with a calming activity like a chew toy or kong.

Well it stopped my Goldie from humping but there’s no guarantee. We had ours done at 18 months, I think 12 months is a bit young

icedcoffees · 08/12/2021 16:49

@DottyHarmer

My dog was a new (half) man after he was done. He was howling at various gates on walks, escaping, humping everyone…

Some home daycares will take unneutered dogs, and I don't know any dog walkers who insist dogs are neutered, so that's another option.

I'm a dog walker and have neutered and unneutered dogs on my books - it's never been a problem to have entire males. I just make sure they never mix with unspayed females, just in case.

MrsHerculePoirot · 08/12/2021 21:36

Our lab is 10 months but never humped. His daycare are happy to take unneutered dogs provided they don’t hump/bother other dogs. If they do they will contact you and request your organise for neutering in a reasonable time frame.

We’ve just not given opportunities for humping and if it has ever even looked like a possibility distracted and calmed.

fitflopqueen · 08/12/2021 22:31

My last 11 month old foster cocker was a humper, every evening after his tea. Advised to leave neuter until he was more mature - nearer 2 yr old.

My own 5 yr old neutered spaniel bitch has recently also taken to humping the dog bed that the cat likes to sleep on, also usually in the evening after her meal, easy to distract her though.

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