# Is my boy sexually frustrated???



## Penny (Sep 22, 2011)

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on my boys latest challenging behaviour! He's now 2.5 years old and intact. We also have a female v who is now 4 and spayed since she was 1. While he has shown an interest in her from puberty (sniffing her butt, checking out where she has peed, etc), recently he has been losing the run of himself with his interest in her. He's fine when we are out exercising and she definitely rules the roost there. However, at home he is obsessed with following her around with his nose at her butt, immediately checks out where she has been recently lying, and trying to hump her. He has also bitten though her ear on two separate occasions while wrestling with her in the kitchen and she is starting to get a bit freaked out by him. Whenever I am present I don't allow him annoy her too much, and have started crating one or the other whenever I have to go out. My question is: is this behaviour stemming from sexual frustration? I never intended to breed from him but wanted him to reach maturity at least before neutering him. I had harboured a hope that I could keep him intact but if this behaviour is frustration, maybe I would be doing him a favour if I had him neutered? Any thoughts? Thanks!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Even neutered dogs sniff butts, run to sniff, and mark over other dogs pee.

To me he sounds like he needs some basic rules. As in learning Leave It, when he starts to bother her. Biting through her ear, is more than just wrestling, its a dog fight at that age. He may very well be frustrated, but it maybe because he needs more mental/physical exercise. Its hard to say what's going on with him, without knowing more information.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Penny, your boy sounds like he's expressing his dominance. The humping, the ear biting, etc., are signs of that..they don't experience 'Sexual frustration" in the way you're thinking, their actual sexual response is triggered by a female in heat, which isn't the case here. 

It's surprising your girl hasn't told him off yet, we'd expect a dominant female to do that and for the underling to get the message and quit. What you want to do..as the pack leader and the Dominant member...is to tell him off yourself. Start by redirecting him when he does these things with a firm "No" or "Stop" while making direct eye contact, preferably as close to his face as you can get. If he doesn't get the message, you might need to get into his face a bit more and raise your voice.

There's a lot of misinformation out there about neutering and the effects it has on behavior..especially dominance...but what you're describing isn't caused by hormones as much as instinct, so a snip won't change this. But if you're on top of it, he should get the message the same way as he has with the other things you've trained him to do (or not do).


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## Penny (Sep 22, 2011)

Thanks TR and Gingerling for your replies. I'm keeping a close eye on him and telling him to "leave it!" whenever I think the play is getting too rough. At least half the time Penny initiates the play, and she does like to play rough! He just doesn't seem to have as much control over himself as she does. He has a "full on" personality anyway so I don't think the ear biting was a dog fight, but more him just losing the run of himself. In every other way they are great buddies. I may end up deciding to neuter him in the future but I don't want to do it to try and correct a behavioural problem only to find the behaviour unchanged. So for the moment I'll focus on the training. Boy, this guy has me on my toes though! Unlike his sister who was so easy, he is forcing me to up my game. Still, nothing like a challenge! Thanks again.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Just one thing, Penny: I'd suggest a short, sharp "STOP!" when he gets carried away..it's simpler and more direct and indicates an immediate demand to cease future instances of behavior AFTER it occurs, whereas "Leave it" indicates future tense, to not even think of doing that. If he's lost control, it's clearer to him to "STOP!"...reserving "Leave it" if you see that glint in his eye as he turns round to have another go at her...

They DO know the difference and appreciate the clarity, a V that understands is far more likely to be a V that listens.


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## trevor1000 (Sep 20, 2013)

We keep water spray bottles all over the house to use when the boy isnt listening.
A couple squirts will snap him out of just about anything.
We dont even need to spray him anymore, we just need to pick up a spray bottle and he knows.


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