Hi All

My 8 month old Staffie has just started to 'hump' a cushion that he likes a lot!

He doesnt do it with anything else and I have to say im not a fan of this cushion so from this point of view im not too worried. I understand that in some cases castration can help to calm this but we dont want to have him castrated unless health or temperament dictates.

My question is how do we deal with this? Should I be stopping him from doing this? Its just that it seems a little harsh to tell him off or stop him from doing what comes naturally. Maybe he will grow out of it, I dont know but any advice would be gratefully accepted.

Hi Caroline,
I know plenty of dogs who hump My spayed girl even humps my male and my mums female dog!However my neutered male doesnt hump anything.

If it doesnt bother you then i wouldnt stop it,he's obviously having fun and he's not hurting anybody,if it were me i would let him go and do his own thing,if you make a big deal out of it it may make him worse ;)

Its great your staffy pup has chosen one outlet for this. About castration - I have an entire male cross breed rescue. Echo has lived with us 4 months now. When we got him he humped everybody and everything including my 7 year old and her pals, and if he couldnt hump my leg he used to vibrate in front of me. It was a reassurance and whos boss thing ( with other dogs). We directed him to a suitable outlet called Sexy Teddy and taught him not to do it to people or other dogs. Hes  NOT castrated.WIth all his hormones flying about your puppy needs an outlet so leave him with the cushion.

Hi Caroline, sorry I didn't reply to your earlier post, I've been having problems with the internet.

Funny to hear about Sox humping stuff, Pepper has been doing this since the moment we brought him home at 6 weeks old!! It's quite embarrasing when other people see it, isn't it!  I don't really want Pepper to get into this habit but he only seems to do it to his toys and his bed sometimes.

Pepper is still growling at children, but am going to training classes starting from June 8th so hopefully I'll get pratical help. It's a bit of a worry though as I don't want to reinforce it by pulling him away from kids but that's the only way I know how otherwise he'd have 'em!

Pepper is 8 months now, funny how they are growing up now. I read on your earlier post that Sox cocked his leg for the first time recently. I know how I felt when Pepper done it, I texted all my friends and said how my boy was growing up!  Good luck with your boy, take care x

Thanks for the advice. I was expecting lots of people to come back and say 'STOP HIM NOW!' Im quite happy to let him continue.

Chillipepper, I am sure that Pepper will be fine. Hes still finding his feet and will calm down.

I have another proud moment to share.... I rehomed Soxs Mum this weeks. Her owners didnt want the responsibility anymore (some people just shouldnt be allowed to have pets but I wont rant here!) and we managed to find her a lovely home where she has settled immediately. I have been dying to boast of my success with this one.

Thanks again all.