My friend has rehomed a cavalier, she has had him since thursday, he is a six year old entire dog. The biggest problem is he humps everything and everybody (apart from her).He does this almost constantly and whilst doing it he barks .He is very affectionate but he gets too excited and then the humping starts.He has 2 different barks his normal one and his excited one which is the one they have the problem with.His grasp of basic commands are strange he responds only to come and no.He does not do sit or respond to his own name which he has had since a puppy.He is sometimes handshy and has snapped at her when she tried to lift him up.She believes she hurt him and is arranging to see a vet for a check over and neutering.The information given to her from the rescue people was his people worked long hours and he was alone most of the time, we both think he has had a far from ideal home life.Even though he sounds a bit of a nightmare she is smitten with him and wants to do her best for him.She is not very impressed with the rescue people and feels like they couldnt wait to get rid of him, they did not assess him and they did not in her opinion vet her,so  she feels disheartened to go back for advice.Any ideas?

Did he come through breed or general rescue.  If breed rescue I really would advise her to keep in touch with them as they will ahve had expereince rehoming the breed and know of the more likely problems.  This humping may not be anything to do with sex but as you say over excitement and an outlet for his frustration learnt from his previous home to ease his loneliness.

I would not be rushing into castration as it is unlikely to cure this problem in the short term, which may subside once he has found out more acceptable ways of dealing with his feelings and gains confidence in his new home.  Objecting to bheing picked up is not unusual in dogs, and of course small dogs are often subjecxtd to this indignity (in the dogs eyes) and it could be that he doesn't trust her enough to feel comfortable with it.

It could be that the little boy is feeling a bit insecure because of recent events i.e. rehoming.  If he has been left at home most of the day in his previous life he won't have learned most of the social skills that are so important at an early age.  I have a rescue collie x and when I took him from the family that were treating him badly and leaving him all day he used to do some very strange things.  Regarding the snapping when picking him up.  I still can't touch Bazil's collar as he used to be dragged around on a choke chain which was much too small for him.  When he came to me I had to cut it off.  THe only thing I can say is not to put too much pressure on the wee boy and let him come around in his own time.  Have a calm environment for him and get him checked out by a vet to make sure everything is fine in the health department.  I've had my boy now for 4 years and he is absolutely wonderful despite his early beginnings.  Everybody loves Bazil and Bazil loves everybody.  So, my advice is have patience;  try to think like the dog is thinking; and don't expect too much too soon.  The problem with taking on rescue dogs is that you don't know what happened before you acquired them and people are not always honest when trying to get rid of a dog that has become surplus to requirements.  They often come with problems and can be incredibly damaged by their original owners.  Tell your friend not to give up.  One thing I would say about having rescue dogs is that the feeling of joy when you see them out running in the fields and playing etc., is fantastic.  You know you've helped to take them from a horrible situation and I think they most definitely appreciate it.  Hope everything works out for your friend.  Good luck.

We had our male cav neutured and the problems stopped he doesnt rule the roost anymore also he is very happy with the way things are befor people start on about neuturing isnt fair

The neutering might well help with the humping, though I have no experience personally as both my males (one Cav, one American cocker) are entire. One of them often humps the other one in the evenings, but luckily has never tried it on me or anything else! The suggestion of keeping a calm environment is a good one, if he starts humping, just quietly get him to sit and stroke him and see if that calms him down. If my two boys get too out of control I generally put them quietly in the kitchen for 10 minutes, that usually reminds them that wild behaviour is not allowed in the lounge. Regarding picking him up, if your friend doesn't need to pick him up and he doesn't like it at the moment, then she shouldn't try. As the dog settles in and learns to trust your friend he may well become happier about being picked up. Good luck and let us know how he gets on - Cavaliers are a wonderful breed!