My puppy is just over nine months old and will not stop mounting my mums bitch and also my sisters bitch. He doesn't mount my brothers dog. One of the bitches is spayed and the other is n ot in  season but he just will not stop running after them and continuously mounting them. He also does this with a neihbours bitch if we stop and talk with both dogs out on a walk. We have tried telling him NO! physically removing him, puttin him in a different room, nothing helps. This has been going on for about 3 months now, i thought he would grow out of it as he got a bit older.
Forgive my ignorance but could he actually "mate" as in do the deed so to speak, with my mums bitch even though she is spayed so not in season?? We are wondering if we just let them get on with it he will tire of it..........but obviously don't want the bitch to get hurt! help!
Should I just get him neutered?

He is in the peak of his adolescence and we all know what that means, let him know that you do not approve and there is not much else you can do he may or may not grow out of it, castrating may or may not help but he is far too young to think about that.

hi maggie ...your boy can do the deed with a bat of an eyelid :) so untill or if you dont want him done ..he needs to be kept away from any bitch thats in season .

i know of a dog at 7months mated a bitch and 9weeks later a litter of 7 pups ....so be very carefull

So could he mate a bitch even if she's not in season? I am due to look after my mums dog while she is in hospital, but if he's constantly mounting her I worry that she will get hurt. Apart from this he is such a good dog.

maggie99,
This is normal, annoying yes, but! normal, getting him neutered will not do a thing, it is the smell and his head that makes him like this.
He is a typical teenager. hormones rule!!!! also a little dominance, I would let him know you are not going to except this behaviour, you can use a water spay, or a shaker, depending on what gains his attention. He will grow out of it. He is still young and finding what is and isn't excepted.

Denese  

He may well try to mate your mums dog when not in season but he is unlikely to succeed as she wont be receptive but you should never leave them alone together anyway. She is very likely to get fed up with his advances and chastise him severely. 

This is the trouble, she doesn't tell him off, she just stands there and lets him! she does start to walk away sometimes or just sits but she is so laid back she's practically horizontal.
Oh well, i'll just tell the little monster no then.

our lab was exibiting this, though no so strongly. at 11 mths, with vet's advise, he was 'done' and is completely cured (if that is the word) of this. much happier / calmer all round.

> at 11 mths, with vet's advise, he was 'done' and is completely cured (if that is the word) of this. much happier / calmer all round.

You have been very lucky, how old is your Labrador now ? Did your vet explain the connection between Testosterone & the growth plates in his long bones(legs)? The possibility of early onset arthritis in the joints because the growth plates do not close timeously ? Of course because Testosterone has been removed early he could also have weight problems all his life & will need to have his weight carefully monitored throughout his life.

Castration is not the cure all some vets believe & certainly doesn't stop humping habits in many dogs.

That interesting. I hope I don't live to regret this decision then. As he's had to have an op for elbow dysplasia (sp?) I do have to carefully watch his weight. Thanks.

I didn't realise that happened with neutering dogs! I definately wont be having my boy done then. He has spent the whole day so far with mums dog and I have constantly followed him and told him to "leave" everytime he atempts to mount her, he listens about 8 times out of ten now, they have even been playing with no humping taking place. i think maybe the longer he is with her the more he calms down as the major humping takes place when he first meets up with her.

Does the same thing happen with females? about the growth? my mums bitch was spayed at 6 months and my sisters dog is booked in to be done this week - she is 8 months and not had a season.

I didn't realise that happened with neutering dogs! I definately wont be having my boy done then I think you have to look at the whole picture and see if the benefits out weigh. For many dgs there is benefit in them being done.

> Does the same thing happen with females? about the growth?

Yes it does, there has been a fair amount of research done on early neutering & it is being used by most vets as birth control rather than for health reasons. The sex hormones also affect the dogs mental maturity & early neutering keeps the dog/bitch in a puppy mentality all it's life.

There are some pros for bitches being spayed-obviously she will not develop Pyometra & there is less chance of mammary cancer if spayed pre puberty-one of the major cons is that many many early spay bitches become incontinent. I am not anti spaying of bitches it is the timing that I have problems with & i cannot understand the rush to carry out a major operation on very young bitches.

Bitches spayed after a season do still have a slightly high incidence of mammary cancer(& it is only very slightly), but they are less likely to become incontinent & obviously cannot develop Pyometra

The only two things that neutering a dog can guarantee is that the dog will never develop testicular Cancer(very rare in dogs)& eventually the dog will become sterile(but this is not immediate & the only way to know if the dog is sterile is to have a semen test done. Prostate cancer is about the same in both neutered & entire males, so castration at any age is not a guarantee of prevention of occurrence.

Puppy humping is not dominance nor sexual it's part of the learning process.

Like spaying bitches I'm not totally anti castration, just the timing of it. Consideration must be given to the long term welfare of the dog/bitch & if early neutering is in anyway detrimental to the dog/bitch then it should be done later & not be used as a contraceptive & in place of responsible dog ownership

> I think you have to look at the whole picture and see if the benefits out weigh. For many dgs there is benefit in them being done.

but the timing needs to be carefully assessed

Thanks for all that. Do you think my sister should have her bitch spayed yet? she is 8 going on 9 months old. She hasn't had a season and is only a small breed. Is it best she waits till she has a season? She is having it done as we often look after each others dogs and as my boy is not neutered and now taking asuch a huge interest she thought it best to have her done now.

If she was mine I would wait & spay three months after her season(which is what I will be doing with Jessie)other wise you do not know if the timing before/after a season is right.

You will need to ensure she is kept totally away from any entire dog when she does come in season for at least 21 days(I would always make it 28 to be on the safe side) & even with neutered dogs she should never be left unsupervised as castrated dogs can still mate bitches !

Completely MM,  that was my point.  

Some dogs do well entire and others seem to be better netured.

My mum took on a dog at 7 years ol entire, cocked it's leg everywhere.   It was netured and never did it again. Each dog is different and some would possibly carry on but to make " some" easier to manage neutering works. I know we have a few anti neuters on the forum but I sit on the fence and say each case needs look at individually.