# Training Intact Male Dog (post might be awkward for some people)



## WashingtonCowgirl (Mar 8, 2010)

I don't plan on getting Moose neutered until he is at LEAST a year old, however, I also don't want a dog who thinks that it is ok to say "hello" to legs, other dogs etc. My friends dog who she just got fixed was really good about not humping legs, but it was all he would do with other dogs, male or female (don't worry, he was only exposed to fixed dogs). He was neutered at 8 months because she couldn't get him to stop. Granted, he wasn't trained (still really isn't) and wasn't well socialized with other dogs either. I just don't want to have this issue with Moose, because it is very important to me that he grows properly, but I won't have him humping every dog he sees wither. Advice? He is the first male dog I have ever had, so I'm not really sure how to deal with this


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## Shandwill (Jul 23, 2010)

If I'm reading this correctly, you are concerned that neutering prior to a year will hinder his growth? 
From what I've read, castration generally does not impact physical or mental development. I had Prophet neutered at six months of age and approximately 65 lbs. and he has grown to be over 100 lbs. and quite tall! For me, the benefits far outweighed the risks. He will occasionally hump our other dog, but it is more a show of dominance than breeding behavior. He has NEVER humped anything else and rarely hikes his leg unless another male dog is around.
I've also read about your interest in competing with Moose at a young age, so you may want to consider that when timing his surgery, as well.


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

Neutering and spaying at a very young age will definitely affect mental and physical development. There are perfectly sound reasons to choose to wait. Marking, fighting, and humping are training issues. Females do all of those things so it's a mistake to attribute them exclusively to the presence of testicles.


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## WashingtonCowgirl (Mar 8, 2010)

If you get a large dog neutered to early, it can increase the risks for HD. He is already a BYB dog so I don't want to take any chances. If all goes well I might wait as long as 18 months to get him fixed.

MarshMuppet beat me to it


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

I've never had an issue, and don't know anyone who trains their dog properly that has had one. I agree with Marsh; it's all about training, not the presence of testicles. 

Frag sniffs a lot more than I think he would if he were neutered with gets annoying sometimes, but doesn't have any issues otherwise. Occasionally he'll hump male dogs at the park, but I think that's because of exposure; other dogs doing it to him. It's rare and he'll stop if I ask, but he tries sometimes. 

Likewise, the 12 week old weim puppy that I fostered was a humping machine when we got him (and a jumper!) but after a week of constant training, repitition, and routine, he stopped. Great example of training right there.


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## WashingtonCowgirl (Mar 8, 2010)

What did you do training wise to get the pup to stop (just in case  )


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## LuvMyAngels (May 24, 2009)

Neutering early will cause growth plates to close later than they should which causes a taller dog (and where some of the joint issues come from with early neutering). Allowing a male to mature before neutering gives them a chance to get that hormone surge that tells them "okay, time to grow up!" and closes the growth plates. 

I heard all the horror stories and had a "typical" intact male dog when I was a teen (no training, my fault!). When I got Buster I swore I was going to have him neutered by the time he was 6 months old. Then I learned what Ive typed above. Buster will be 20 months in just over a week (2 on Feb. 17) and he's still has his boy bits. Living with an intact male is a lot easier than I ever imagined. We dont have any marking inside (only certain things outside, he's not allowed to stop every 5 seconds to pee on every blade of grass taller than 2"), aggression (even when the neighbors Chi's come charging out aggressively), he's very social (with humans and other dogs). He tries to hump other dogs occasionally (never humans), I interrupt just like any other unwanted behavior. The only real difference Im finding between a neutered male and an intact male...the intact boy cant be allowed to play with an intact female in season. Otherwise you still supervise, contain, train and love them the same way.


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## Keechak (Aug 10, 2008)

Hawk has never had any humping problems what so ever, Kechara will hump him during play time but it's rare that he will return the gesture. I do notice an increase in sniffing with him personally but I don't know weather it's due to the lifelong tracking training or his balls lol.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

Humping happens but has little to do with testosterone..mounting and humping are not the same animal, so to speak. Many dogs hump if they're overly excited, stressed or simply don't know what else to do. It occurs in prepubescent dogs, adult males and females etc..it is not necessarily a sexual or dominance behaviour.

If you are worried about humping, you interrupt it and give the dog something else to do. Inveterate humpers (just like jumpers) have signals that it is coming...be the thought police and watch for his signals, interrupt him and reward him for not doing it. Easy peasy...but takes patience and practice.


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## WashingtonCowgirl (Mar 8, 2010)

Ok. He is super duper smart, so I doubt it will take him long to figure out he should do something else with his energy


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

Why do people think that just because you have an un-neutered male that he is going to try and hump everything in sight? I have never owned a neutered male and have had literally hundreds of dogs in my lifetime of a lot of different breeds. I do Agility with Remmy and he is not neutered nor do I see any reason to do so. He is well trained, knows what he can and cannot do and is never a problem even with my sister's un-neutered male and even when there are females around. I am sure he is not the exception as the other males I had were no different. None of them ever ran off and bred any females as they were always under control.


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## WashingtonCowgirl (Mar 8, 2010)

Kyllobernese said:


> Why do people think that just because you have an un-neutered male that he is going to try and hump everything in sight? I have never owned a neutered male and have had literally hundreds of dogs in my lifetime of a lot of different breeds. I do Agility with Remmy and he is not neutered nor do I see any reason to do so. He is well trained, knows what he can and cannot do and is never a problem even with my sister's un-neutered male and even when there are females around. I am sure he is not the exception as the other males I had were no different. None of them ever ran off and bred any females as they were always under control.


 I do believe that I stated in the OP that my friends dog had the humping problem and WASN'T trained. I also stated that I had never owned a male dog before, so I didn't really know what to expect. So it seems that you are the one jumping to conclusions and taking offense where no offense should have been taken


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

You are obviously training your male dog so I was just making the statement that just because he is a male does not mean he is going to suddenly start humping other dogs. I am not against neutering or spaying but just think you are worrying unnecessarily about leaving your dog till he is older to get neutered. As you said, your friend's dog is not very well trained so has not been taught that he should not hump.


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## DJEtzel (Dec 28, 2009)

WashingtonCowgirl said:


> What did you do training wise to get the pup to stop (just in case  )


It wasn't anything in the way of controlling the behavior, actually. (Other than walking off when he did it and ignoring him) It was just training basic obedience, exercise, consistency in routine, etc. NILIF basically. He was being stimulated both physically and mentally, so it gave him something to do instead of manifest bad behaviors and he stopped. He wasn't anxious or wild anymore because he knew what to expect, how it was gonna go down, and what his role was in it.


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Auz wasn't neutered til he was 2 years old, and from day one cramming his nose deep into someones leg/ankle to sniff wasn't tolerated. I know dogs are dogs, but a dog smashing his nose against your leg (or in your crotch) to "say hi" seems kind of rude, and is a big turn-off to a lot of people (myself included). He never did this, and he never humped another dog until shortly before he was neutered.


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## That'llDo (Apr 13, 2010)

Pixel is a bit of a humper sometimes--he is really high anxiety and gets overstimulated easily (he is neutered, and has been for a long time). Isn't much of a problem though. A good solid "leave it" is possibly the most useful and versatile command ever.


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

For those of you guys who were interesting in reading about the effects of early spaying and neutering of dogs - here's a great link I've posted on here before. http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html

I think humping is about training and the dog personality itself. Lars is not neutered and he hasn't humped anything as an adolescent or an adult. When he was a baby puppy he would hump stuffed toys. When he hit about 5 months old, the behavior just stopped with no training or help from us. Our first rottweiler, Sam, who was a rescue and most likely neutered at an early age...humped the air if he got really excited about things or other dogs. Every once in a great while he would try to hump Lars (when he was young) as a dominance thing. Sam was an elderly dog at that point and we still didn't allow him to do that. 

I know some intact male dogs who are rude pigs despite training and some, like Lars, who are not. So that's where I think temperament plays a role in male dog behaviors like humping. That's my two cents.


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## WashingtonCowgirl (Mar 8, 2010)

MrsBoats said:


> When he was a baby puppy he would hump stuffed toys[\QUOTE]
> 
> Moose does this, but with blankets. Ususally out of frustration when we tell him its bedtime and he doesn't want to go to sleep


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

MrsBoats said:


> For those of you guys who were interesting in reading about the effects of early spaying and neutering of dogs - here's a great link I've posted on here before. http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html
> 
> I think humping is about training and the dog personality itself. Lars is not neutered and he hasn't humped anything as an adolescent or an adult. When he was a baby puppy he would hump stuffed toys. When he hit about 5 months old, the behavior just stopped with no training or help from us. Our first rottweiler, Sam, who was a rescue and most likely neutered at an early age...humped the air if he got really excited about things or other dogs. Every once in a great while he would try to hump Lars (when he was young) as a dominance thing. Sam was an elderly dog at that point and we still didn't allow him to do that.
> 
> I know some intact male dogs who are rude pigs despite training and some, like Lars, who are not. So that's where I think temperament plays a role in male dog behaviors like humping. That's my two cents.


I agree. I have a neutered male who will very quietly hump the air when he is close to another dog that has something he wants. I think that is him saying "I can take you" even though he is fully aware he cannot. He lacks confidence so I he wouldn't dare hump another dog. My other male who is intact doesn't hump any person but has mounted the other dog on occasion. That is alway put to a halt immediately. Not acceptable in my presence. He doesn't even try very often. I have just had no need to get him fixed as he is a well behaved dog. I believe training/management is 98% of the battle. Like you said though, there are those few dogs that are just obnoxious. I know a few people like that too.


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