Hi All

Recently Dill, my 2 and a half year old saluki, has been developing some very unpleasant character traits, which are all kind of linked.

First, he has developed a HUGE sex drive - during our walks in my local dog run, he spends most of the time trying to mount every non-neutered bitch and neutered dog, or finding wee to lick (sorry, bit graphic).  Of an evening, before he settles down, he also tries to mount my girlfriend (which he has done on occasion before), me (which he has never done before), and the cushions on our sofa (which he hasn't done since he was about 4 months old).

Second, he is starting to show signs of dog-aggressiveness.  Again in the dog run, he is possessive of balls and sticks he finds, dogs he is attempting to mount, and the territory of the dog run itself, which he shows by barking aggressively at large male dogs who pass by the dog run fence.

Third, it is just impossible to tire him.  He gets two or three walks a day, totalling about 3 hours, half of which is spent trotting beside a bicycle, and the other half in the dog run, where he should be running and playing, but is usually doing all the horrible stuff described above.  He also gets taken to a big riverbank twice a week where he can run freely at saluki-speed.  Despite this, he can't settle on an evening, and instead gets himself wound up more and more until he eventually gives up and collapses.

I know that neutering him probably wouldn't cure the mounting, and probably not the aggressiveness either, and I don't really want him to lose his shape and coat, but I feel it must be so frustrating for him to have all this sexual energy that he can't use up.

By the way, he gets fed Nutro lamb and rice, specifically chosen for the low-ish protein content (21%), but he also gets chews and treats to occupy him when he's at home alone or to try and settle him down on an evening which are probably higher in protein.

So, if anyone has any ideas as to the causes, possible cures, and tips on low-protein foods and treats, I'd be really grateful.

Thanks a lot,
Phil and a frustrated Dill

As he seems to get plenty of physical exercise, have you tried tiring out his brain, by training games? Hiding a treat under a flowerpot and he has to find it - that sort of thing?

Thanks for the quick reply, Jeangenie.

Yeah, that's a good idea for evenings at home to settle him down - just not sure how it would work in the dog run when his libido is running wild, and also sighthounds are notoriously bad at brain work.  However, Dill is extremely food oriented, so I'll give it a go.

Tonight I'm afraid I've just settled him down by ignoring him completely as I'm so fed up with his behaviour, but I know that is no long-term solution.  Any other ideas for brain games?

your dog must be very frustrated.  how sad and awful.  try to be patient with him, he really can't help his feelings.  these are some reasons why i chose to neuter my dog when he was a pup.  i didn't want these sexual behaviors or the dog agressiveness. 
however, now that he is 2 years old, i am not sure neutering would help.  i would definately try the brain teasers with him.  hiding the cookie could be a really fun game and keep him occupied.  even just basic training can tire out a dog.  try doiung some agility exercises with him.  this can be very fun and tiring.  don't ignore him because you are fed up.  it is not his fault he is acting like he is.  he doesn't deserve to be ignored.

Thanks for the reply elija.  Perhaps "sad and awful" is a little excessive, but I do appreciate that my dog is very frustrated and that makes me very concerned.

Well as for neutering, perhaps I was a little naive when I first got Dill, but I just didn't make the link between excessive sexuality, agressiveness, and not neutering.  After all, there are numerous intact dogs who do not exhibit excessive sexuality and dog-aggressiveness, and the saluki is not known to be a particularly dog-agressive breed, quite the opposite in fact.  At the moment, this aggressiveness is limited to warning barks and growls in the situations I described above, and I would love to nip it in the bud before it develops further, but I'm not sure how to go about this other than NO and removing Dill from the scene immediately. 

As for the sexual behaviour, the actual physical act of mounting has probably already been learned and would not be eliminated by neutering, but surely by actually removing the sexual hormones, the sexual frustration would also be removed?  From a simple aesthetic point of view, I'd be disappointed by the inevitable changes to the coat (if you've ever seen a neutered saluki, you'll know what I mean), but of course I would put up with that if I could relieve my dog of his frustrations.

I also wonder why it has happened now, after a pretty uneventful adolescence and at the time when dogs are supposed to settle down?

Well, perhaps there is no answer to the question of why, but I'd be very grateful for some more input into ways of curbing this behaviour and opinions as to whether neutering really would help?

Occasionally, very occasionally there are dogs who are actually better on higher protein levels........

digger, very interesting you should say that, as when he was previously on Nutro large breed maintenance, which was higher in protein than the lamb and rice i'm feeding now, he was calmer.  The reason I changed over to the lower protein brand was because I'd read that protein can be a cause of skin cancer, and Dill had a small tumour removed about six months ago from which he recovered completely, but kind of panicked me a little.

The more information you get, the more confusing everything seems!! It's very hard to know what's best.

From a more and more fed-up Phil...

I take my high energy dog to agility class once a week and that tires him a lot. It's the brain work because the exercise isn't nearly what he does every day on our walks. He does low jumps, teeters, bridges and tunnels etc. All the excitment, fun and socializing he gets to do just wears him out in one hour. LOL.

Like Elija, that is also why I neutered my dog....those behaviors don't usually happen much when it's done early. It's more common than you think with intact male dogs. I have seen it a lot. You are not alone. You'll just need to work through it, change the subject...distract him when he does those things, try the trick training...nothing else to do really. It's too bad that it bothers you. It IS natural and he can't help it.

Carrie

Perhaps you should forget the idea that hounds are no good at brain work, it may have to be different to other breeds because in the most part they see through the throw and fetch sort of games but if he likes his food a hide and seek the tit bit may keep him happy as may feeding him with a food ball and make him work for his supper.

It could be that he has scent of a bitch in season, the behaviour you speak of is more normal in a younger dog. If the problem is very bad and you are not wanting to use him at stud in the next 4 months or so, why not ask the vet for a Tardac jab to help break the habit and calm things down a bit.

Thanks everyone.

I should just point out that I'm not fed up with the behaviour itself, but fed up because my dog seems frustrated and I feel sorry for him and don't know what to do about it.

Anyway, I'll start with the brain games and also get a progesterone injection to see if that calms him, and keep neutering in mind as an option if the problem seems to get worse or doesn't improve.

By the way, Jackie, yes there has been a bitch in season, whose stupid owners think that it's OK to bring the bitch to the fence of the dog run and enjoy watching Dill cry and scratch at the fence trying to get at her, and who also had no idea when I asked them what day of the season their bitch is on.  However, Dill's behaviour is going well beyond this particular bitch and continues even when she is nowhere in sight.

Don't forget that the scent of a bitch carries several miles. She doesn't have to be in sight now that he knows she's around. Now that your poor dog has been teased by these unthinking people he won't calm down until she's well out of season. If they hadn't done that he would probably have been fine forever.

i do think it is very sad and awful that your dog is so frustrated and that you have to walk a certain way at a certain time each day.  now it is even more sad and awful that your neighbors teased him like that.  he must be incredibly frustrated, which proves he even needs more of an outlet. your dog needs  a lot of exersice to burn off that pent-up energy.

Jeangenie,
Yes, I had suspected as much about the bitch in heat - funny thing is, these owners hate it when Dill mounts their bitch, so I guess something will have to be said next time we meet, whether her season has finished or not.

Elija,
Yes, as you so self-righteously point out, I am a terrible dog owner whose poor dog only has one walking route and is not cared for properly...

jeez, salukidill, you have a real defensiveness problem, don't you?  there is no need to be rude to me.  i was simply comiserating with you, or empathizing with your situation.  since i have never had a dog that acted like yours is acting, i don't have too many answers, but i can sure be supportive.  evidently that is not okay with you.  really, you should be embarrased at your snide attitude towards me.

OK fair enough, guess I over-reacted, it's very easy to read a tone of voice into people's posts on here, and I kind of felt "sad and awful" was patronizing - if it wasn't meant that way, I apologize.

I'm so desperate to do right by my saluki guy that I guess I get a little over-sensitive.

Sorry to have offended you.

Phil, hanging his head in shame...

okay, thanks phil.....don't hang your head in shame.  my offended feelings may have been over-reactive too--
anyhow, i know you are concerned with your dog and i wish i had some answers.  the only thing i can thnik of is the exersice.  it sounds like you do that a lot, but i guess it must be more challenging for your dog. 

anyhow, good luck.

A different perspective has just crossed my mind....

Who would you expect to have the higher sexual drive?

An athlete who exercises daily, maintaining a very high level of fitness who only eats the best food, or a fat, lazy slob eating nothing but pizza?

I'm not suggesting that you would want to turn a dog into a 'slob', but getting it even fitter may not be any help either!

This is just an "off the cuff" suggestion, but maybe an idea would be to give him an outlet for his frustrations! ;-)

In the first post it was suggested that the dog wanted to mount cushions and people which i would guess he is prevented from doing.

What about having something (maybe kept in a part of the garden or garage) that he IS allowed to mount? Possibly this could give him the opportunity to calm himself down, rather than having to be constantly frustrated by his owners attempts to thwart his intentions.

I've never owned a dog with this level of "drive" so the above is more for suggestion / debate than actual advice. May not be something that you would want to consider, its not exactly a 'party trick' that you would want to show guests! ;-)

Think this particular dog is behaving as most dogs would having been visited by an in-season bitch, once the bitch is well and truly finished he should return to normal until the next time some idiot brings a desirable bitch near him or walks one where he walks, when, as he has now been offered a bitch, he is likely to display the frustrated behaviour again.  Would not worry to much about him, he is not designed to have every bitch he comes across and given a free reign he would find he had to fight for the privilege, as he has a caring owner he can have an injection to ease his life.

"I've never owned a dog with this level of "drive" so the above is more for suggestion / debate than actual advice."

I had a boyfriend once like that.

Carrie

Well, we've had two days of solid rain, which means I can exercise Dill without bumping into many other dogs, so that seems to have calmed him a little, and I've been doing some extra training and brain games, which has actually been a bit of a revelation to me!  I have to admit I'd been neglecting training a little recently, but in just these two days I've taught him to catch the ball and to sit and lie with only hand signals rather than words - my dog is a genius!!!

Taking him to the river today rather than the dog run, and then off to the vets tomorrow for the hormone injection, so let's hope we can keep him on an even keel for a while.

Thanks very much for all the input guys - much appreciated.

Phil