General Question 7 Month old male around 5 month old female. (humping problems)

[NateB]

My male is considerably larger than my female. and when the play fight, he will sometimes pin her down and hump her. When I see it happen, i obviously stop him. But I cant keep an eye on them 24/7 and I'm worried about him "catching" her. She hasn't even had a heat cycle yet, and i can only imagine how he is going to act when that happens.

What kind of precautions should i take to prevent my little girl from getting hurt? Is there anyway I could get my male to be less of a hornball? Maybe get him another date for a night or two? lol or is he still to young for something like that?

 

[2BullyMama]

Hi Nate -- welcome to EBN.

I have no experience with intact behavior so I tagged a few members that may have some insight for you

 

[Davidh]

Well boys will be boys. The best way and safest way is to crate them when you are not home or at night when you can not watch them. The next thing is to have them spayed and neutered. Some vets recommend waiting on the males until about 18 months to neuter, but there have been people neuter their males sooner with no problem. Females usually get spayed either before they go into a heat cycle or wait 2 to 3 months after a heat cycle.

 

[Baconator]

We got Bacon neutered at around 8 months and he was fine, once we got him neutered he totally stopped humping me.

 

[jimmyjj]

Diesel is 8 months old and is exactly the same. I have started to put a few coins in a metal can and when he barks or humps I shake it. He stops and I tell him no.

It's working so far

 

[Tooleysmom]

Humping is considered rude doggy behavior and a time out each and every time will help. If he is put in his crate or in another room for a 2 minute time out he will learn that the fun stops when he does humping behavior. There are all sorts of reasons dogs hump in addition to hormonal - to show dominance, to burn off excitement and to express anxiety. You know your Bully best so once you determine the reason it will help with the kind of correction/management you need to do. There is very new information that is just out that delaying spaying and neutering if possible is now preferable. Something to do with minimizing hip dysplasia because of the hormone influences on bone fusing. Which means waiting if possible. Not always the right decision but worth having a chat with your vet about if you can manage the behavior. With Buster I will have to wait and see what his temperament is like when he hits puberty. At the same time I do not want to torture Miss Tallulah.

 

[Sherry]

Heck, try putting a diaper on him too. He might stop

 

[NateB]

Thanks everyone! All the advice has been helpful. I'd prefer not to get them fixed.

He isnt completely out of control just yet. I was just concerned about My female getting hurt. They are both crate trained, so im not worried about them at night or while we are gone. Ill keep a watchful eye out and hopefully he keeps himself under control!

Thanks again!

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Expecting a pup to be able to self-regulate INSTINCT is folly. As long as you have in tact dogs -- both male and female - you're going to have issues. There's probably more at play here than just hormones, as well. That pinning and humping during play -- isn't play and should be stopped whenever it occurs. It is, as [MENTION=4570]Tooleysmom[/MENTION] said, rude behavior. For my Bo its occurence is a result of over-excitement - not the desire to mate. Bo doesn't have his equipment so he does not suffer the frustration of having his equipment and NOT being able to mate. Waiting for him to get "out of control" and then doing something isn't the way to go either. It's harder to rehabilitate a negative behavior than it is to stop it in the first place. [MENTION=7649]NateB[/MENTION] you are really going to have to be the pack leader at your house!

 

[mer55]

Bogey was neutered at just shy of 5 months. He started humping me just last week( he is 6 months) and at only one time- at night when our routine is to sit on the couch, he usually gnaws on his bone stretched out across my lap. He would usually tire out and fall asleep until his last potty run of the night, andthen in the crate. Last week however, he started with this ritual: hopping up on the couch with his bone as usual. Laying across my lap, gnawing his toy for only a few minutes, then hopping up on my shoulder to hump! I was shocked! So, his lesson was that if he humps, he gets off the couch and there is no "cuddle time". He did not like it one bit, but it curbed it. He will still try everynight, but is slowly learning he can't do that and be welcome on the couch. He is persistant, but I am bigger and MORE determined to win! These guys are the most bullheaded dogs I have ever had the pleasure of raising, but I love him to pieces!