Hi, Im just wondering has anyone any experience of this and if so whats the best way to handle it? I have a 2 year old entire rottweiler and my friend has a 1 yr old saint bernard. The thing is my rottie is completely obsessed with him, sexually and tries to mount him all the time. We both show our dogs and if we are ever in the ring together its a complete nightmare for me. He is totally fixated on him and i cant get him to concentrate on me at all, even with food and so on.
Is this something he will grow out of? its just, so far we are only in classes together at open shows, but im sure there will be time when we might be together in the group at champ shows and i really need to nip this behaviour in the bud now. He behaves like theres a bitch in heat, but its a male dog that hes after. The saint doesnt tell him off or anything if they are near each other. This has happened on more than one occassion and if he spots the saint at all in the hall he does all he can to keep him in view, i have to ask the owner to move away out of view so that my fella cant see him.
I really would love to hear if anyone has any views or experience on this as i really need to sort it.
Thanks.

Sounds like a dominance issue? :-)

But if its dominance why does he act like theres a bitch in heat with this dog? i can understand the mounting, but not the fixation and the constant whining.

It's hard to say, maybe he's just fixated on the other dog as a play thing? It's very hard to say really, it's usually a dominance thing, but have they played together since pups? Do you walk them together? Do they usually play together?

Sounds more like the St Bernard is giving off some kind of scent which is, erm, "arousing" for your rottie!  I assume the SB isn't on any kind of hormone treatment for an unusual condition, or perhaps on other medication which could make his scent different maybe?

What about something used in the SB's household which the rottie could be fixating on - the owners perfume/aftershave?  Certain pheromones can have this effect I believe.  What about any cleaning substances used on the SB him before a show?  Shampoos, colognes, etc?

I don't have any experience of this, just thinking aloud really!  Of course, it could simply be that your dog finds the SB devastatingly attractive.  :)

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, but I'm sure somebody else will be along who can shed a bit more light!

Good luck

:)

We would be at shows together regularly and my fella would know him since he was around 6 months(the saint that is). We go on regular walks together so they would be quite good friends as such. Im just wondering how can i get him out of this fixation, especially at shows because he will do nothing for me in the ring if he can see this dog, its very frustrating, i hope to bring him to obediance classes soon when the saint will be in the class and see if the trainer can help me in any way.

I have seen this sort of behavior when anal glands have needed emptying , they must give off some sort of smell that other dogs confuse with in season bitches
Is your Rott sniffing the others bum at all ?

How do other entire males react around the st bernard?

Ive never seen any other male behave the way my fella does around him, so i guess just normally, not like sex crazed male, like my fella is, its very strange, thought he might grow out of it, but its getting worse instead of better. I suppose if the saint was to tell him off he might back off a bit,but all he wants to do is play and doesnt see this as a bad thing.
He had a similar obsession with a golden retriever before, again male, but not as bad as this.

i can sympathise with you on this :)
my rott started this 'fixating' behaviour in the ring at about 20 months old - he fixates on one dog - no matter who - it varies + will not takes eyes off - food nor no amount of persuation will get his attention back - he whines + winges + acts like a complete fool :) - i cant do anything with him when he starts this
i cant really help with the why or what that can help but have found using skullcap + valaria before a show has helped him alot - hes alot calmer + concentrates more
ive just put his down to hormones + still have all fingers n toes crossed that he'll grow out of it

Thanks pottydog, i wonder is it just his age and hormones raging and hes all confused? Can i ask what that skullcap and valaria is? Thanks for your reply and its good to know im not the only one who has a dg that does this.

Might be a Rottie trait then!? Skullcap and Valeria are homeopathic(I think, certainly herbal) remedies given to calm animals down, do a google and you will find somewhere to buy them, maybe Dorwest Herbs??

Sorry, not sure of the correct spelling for them...;-)

yes - i get mine from dorwest herbs - they're at most of the shows i go to + easy to get online too
to be honest - its also a relief for me to know i'm not the only one too :)

There is a scent issue here, definitely, and probably a behavioural pattern on top of it. I know entire males can sometimes get confused. My boy gets really turned on, every now and again, by castrated males, acting as if they were bitches whereas he wouldn't behave this way with an entire male.
If your dog is a bit frisky and knows this dog for having played with him before, a "different" scent might have triggered this behaviour. He's in love!
Has he ever behaved this way with another dog before? Could HE have an altered sense of smell in any way rather than the other dogs smelling different? Just thinking out loud...

Hi, yes he did it before with a male golden retriever, at ringcraft classes, again this dog was entire, i actually had to stop going to the classes as i couldnt get anything out of him as he was so obsessed with this dog, even when he see GR's at shows now he would still act a little silly but not as bad as he does with the saint. Myabe i will try that dorwest stuff.
Would that make him a bit sleepy in the ring though? My fella is full of energy and really moves well around the ring, i really dont want him to be dead going around the ring. Maybe i could try them at open shows, and see how he gets on with them.

Hi,
Funny enough same thing happened when I walked my entire dog with another male dog. The reaction by mine was as if the other dog was a bitch on heat and not a castrated one. Apparently, this dog attracts lots of other males in the same way. Had to abandon the walk as mine was getting very aroused and it couldn't have been a very enjoyable walk for the other one.

I have witnessed this at our dog club, we have choc lab who is obsessed with a yellow lab, choc lab is entire male and 18 months old, yellow lab 6 yrs old a castrated male. The choc lab will do anything to get to yellow lab on and off lead, there is no agrression but just seems to want to be with the other lab come what may but never bothers with any other dogs in the class, so I read this thread with interest but non of us are able to work out why choc lab is so fixated. ( no mounting though in this case ).

Good luch supercooper

Does anyone know how to try and fix this behaviour though and how to handle it when it happens?