Our dog won’t stop humping.

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DeanR32

Original Poster:

1,840 posts

189 months

Wednesday 7th March 2018
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Afternoon PH

Our olde time bulldog has always been a humper. Anyone who comes in the house got the treatment, so we put him in his crate at the first sign of it, which I suppose didn’t deal with the problem. He’s 3 and a half now.

Last week we took in another dog as a friend of the family couldn’t keep her. She’s a 3 year old bulldog and absolutely adorable, but she doesn’t get left alone by our dog, and it’s really starting to grate on us. We’d been planning on getting Rudy’s nuts off for a while now, so we had this done a couple days before Tilly arrived.

We’re not sure whether the humping is asserting his dominance (as he does it with visitors), him being fruity or a bit of both. Either way we want it to stop. He doesn’t let her go anywhere alone, trying to control wherever she wants to go. It’s especially bad when we come home or new people arrive.

It’s been around a week now and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. We have a dog trainer coming over this Saturday to assess the situation, but I thought I’d ask over here too, especially as the trainer is £70 per session (60-90 mins) so I’d like to keep it to the one session.

Any ideas as to what we need to do to curb this humping lark?

Cheers

Mexman

2,442 posts

90 months

Wednesday 7th March 2018
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Has he been 'de-knackered'?

DeanR32

Original Poster:

1,840 posts

189 months

Wednesday 7th March 2018
quotequote all
Mexman said:
Has he been 'de-knackered'?
Yes he has. Sweetbreads are gone

moorx

3,777 posts

120 months

Wednesday 7th March 2018
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As far as I know, it will take a while for the hormones to die down following neutering.

There will also probably be an element of it being a 'learned behaviour' now, which you will need to address through behavioural training, possibly including distraction onto something else (eg playing with a tuggy toy, which bull breeds often enjoy). Hopefully the trainer will be able to help with this.

4x4Tyke

6,506 posts

138 months

Wednesday 7th March 2018
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DeanR32 said:
Mexman said:
Has he been 'de-knackered'?
Yes he has. Sweetbreads are gone
At three and half years old, that urge will already be well established.

It will subside over time, how much is separate question.

aka_kerrly

12,488 posts

216 months

Wednesday 7th March 2018
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DeanR32 said:
especially as the trainer is £70 per session (60-90 mins) so I’d like to keep it to the one session.
FFFFIn hell I knew pet owners can be a crazy bunch but is that really the going rate for someone telling your dog to stop being naughty.

As others have said, now his nuts are gone he will probably settle down. When an ex had her old English Sheepdog done the poor chap spent around 3 days staring blankly between his legs an after the initial trauma became far more chilled out afterwards.

garythesign

2,237 posts

94 months

Wednesday 7th March 2018
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moorx said:
As far as I know, it will take a while for the hormones to die down following neutering.

There will also probably be an element of it being a 'learned behaviour' now, which you will need to address through behavioural training, possibly including distraction onto something else (eg playing with a tuggy toy, which bull breeds often enjoy). Hopefully the trainer will be able to help with this.
I agree with both of these points.

I have had two male dogs, both eventually castrated.

Cocker had been showing dominance to,other male dogs the same size. six months after castration and this behaviour dissapeared. he was about three years old

Flat coated retriever, castrated at around a year. Five years later those hips were still rocking back and forth

bexVN

14,682 posts

217 months

Thursday 8th March 2018
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aka_kerrly said:
DeanR32 said:
especially as the trainer is £70 per session (60-90 mins) so I’d like to keep it to the one session.
FFFFIn hell I knew pet owners can be a crazy bunch but is that really the going rate for someone telling your dog to stop being naughty.

As others have said, now his nuts are gone he will probably settle down. When an ex had her old English Sheepdog done the poor chap spent around 3 days staring blankly between his legs an after the initial trauma became far more chilled out afterwards.
Well to be properly trained and up to date with the best techniques takes a lot of training and a lot of money (several grand) so £70 for an hour and half is not so unreasonable.

Unfortunately if an established behaviour even after neutering it can become a behavioural rather than a hormonal response so can continue.

To OP As Moorx said it is early days and will take several weeks for the hormonal response to settle, then if he is still doing it you are left with the behavioural which may need addressing. Getting a behaviourist in now may be a bit early but hopefully will offer some helpful ways to distract.

You have made it more challenging by having the female join you so soon after his op, is she spayed?

Edited by bexVN on Thursday 8th March 08:10

HTP99

23,147 posts

146 months

Thursday 8th March 2018
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moorx said:
As far as I know, it will take a while for the hormones to die down following neutering.
Barry was a randy sod who'd hump anything, the wife's friends named him "sex pest", at 2 years old we had his crown jewels removed, I would say it took at least 6m before he stopped humping everything.