Hi All,

Our 8 month old Lab appears to be permanently horny!

I know this is normal behaviour, but I was wondering how long it will last? Several times a day he will get himself all excited and sit looking at me with his willy out and panting (sorry to be so graphic!). And when he's not just sitting there, he goes off to hump a cushion or he tries to get my attention by pawing my hands and chewing my sleeves - and doesn't stop even when he HAS my attention. (The latter is VERY annoying after a short while!) 

My other half is getting quite annoyed with this behaviour because he's like it pretty much every waking moment! He's threatening that we will have to get him neutered to stop this. But I would rather keep him in tact because I want him to grow into a nice regal looking adult male (he's heading that way already) and stay playful. I've heard that neutering could affect these things?

That said, we have no intentions of breeding from him...

How long does this phase last and is there any way that we can put him off being like it quite so much without having him neutered? It's really quite embarrassing at times.

Thanks
Ruth

Firstly - stop giving him attention when he paws at you or chews - simply remove yourself from the vicinty without speaking or looking at him.  He WILL try harder, so beware and make sure it still doesn't work, or you will be setting him up for a lifetime of using it as an attention getting technique (my own Springer has started pawing hubby in the face to get his attention - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, so she just keeps on doing it until he looks at her - he won't listen to me, one of these days he's going to get a bloody lip :( )  If you don't like him 'bonking' the cushion try distracting him with a toy, if it's not a problem unless you have visitors, then allow him the one cushion, and put it away when you have company. Most dogs will get so attached to the one item that they would never dream of having a 'relationship' with anything else, this makes it quite manageable :)

Tell your OH that getting annoyed is giving the dog some satisfaction (look - he's noticed me! :)) and he should also turn the other cheek so to speak ;)

Neutering can prevent the dog reaching full physical maturity, but IMHO is actually makes them more playful, especially when done earlier rather than later.  You can help to keep him playful by making it fun for him and not punishing him for experimenting, although ofcourse if he starts doing stuff you don't want him to, try distraction.....

Neutering him now will not help, infact it may keep him like it for the rest of his life!!!

I have found that neuterd dogs are more likly to hump things rather then intact males.  Tell your OH that it wont help the dog.  Just ignor it when he wants your attention.  But he can have it when YOU give him attention.

Rox

Whether you neuter or not is your decision; Neutering does not CAUSE dogs to hump more than entire dogs IME, certainly neither of mine did and I know of no other dog that humps more since being neutered than before :D  That is not to say of course they do not exist but in general humping tends to go away after a certain age and improves if you do ignore it as suggested.  You could try a temporary chemical castration such as Tardek which lasts around 3 weeks to see if this has any effect on your puppy.  It is true that SOME dogs do have testosterone overload and benefit from being castrated as both they and the owner become more relaxed :D

Hi guys-

I'm in the same situation myself at the moment. My lab pup Kester, whos about 9 months now, is at the 'humping' stage. I've always been told that at about 10 months old, a male puppy has the maximum amount of Testosterone in his body, that he will EVER have in his life.  He's not being naughty or doing it to annoy you, he has about as much control over his hormones as a bitch does with her seasons.
  I know that it can be embarrasing at times, but I CHOSE to have a dog rather than a bitch this time, knowing all the things that were going to happen. I find that distraction really works, a ragger or a kong can do wonders.
As for the 'pawing' thing, Kester tried that for a whole 24 hours!  When nobody paid him any attention, he gave up :).  Try to be patient, give it a few months and the hormones will level out a bit.  I've not tried the temporary injection so I can't say if they work or not, I don't know if its immediate or whether it would take a few days to work.  There are many very experienced people on here that know a great deal about hormones in young male dogs, so please let us know what happens.
Good luck
Ali :)

My 12 month old lab is exactly the same.  even in training the other day, he did a 2 minute sit stay with his willy out!! it's embarassing but you got to laugh!  I just ignore mine and he soon gives up or I will take his mind of things by going outside and playing either way works for me!