Puppy humping and when to neuter

[luke4275]

My pup will be 5 months old at the end of the month.. today, at the dog park, he humped one day many times and one other for a bit. I hate to see dogs hump and I stopped him when seen. MY question. Can a 5 month old male pup already be exhibiting sex actions? Might a neuter fix this now? I wanted to wait till 8-9 months so my pup could get some growth but humping is not something I like to see. Also, I think I need to get his hips xrayed, ( some bunny hopping) and I was told that 6 months was the right time for that. How about doing the neuter/hip x-ray at 6 months? or wait a while more? thanks ( I placed this post in someone elses post by error)

[dawnandjr]

First of all, what does bunny hopping have to do with x-rays? Absolutely nothing! You can get prelims done by OFA at 6 months of age. A-stamps can be done at 1 yr. OFA regular at 24 months. So because you cant handle the sight of seeing your dog exhibiting natural canine maturation, you want to neuter him. Puppies exhibit this 'humping' behavior as early as 3 wks of age. In both sexes. Work on obedience training him. If you can distract him away from the behavior when it starts, that would be better. Get out his favorite toy for example. Wait until his body is finished growing at 18 months or so, then neuter. Oh, and did I mention obedience classes.

[Emoore]

Humping is often more of a dominance thing than a sexual thing. If it's dominance, training will fix it better than neutering.

That said, I really don't think there's really a right or wrong decision with when to neuter. It's between you and your vet. I personally have chosen to wait, but I'm comfortable with handling an intact adult male dog, confident that I can prevent humping and marking, and confident that I can prevent him from roaming and finding a mate. If you're worried or concerned about any of those things, you might want to do the neuter now.

Someone else will have to answer you about the hip x-ray. I know that you can't get any hip certifications at 6 months old, but you can get an OFA preliminary reading and picture of what his hips look like of course.

[luke4275]

I was taught. based on my previous shep. when they bunny hop, that is a bad sign of either injury, lameness or poor hips.. etc.

Thanks for the replies suggesting humping is more related to dominance. I've only had 2 other dogs besides this one.. all white shps , and never once had a humping issue.

[dawnandjr]

My OFA good bitch bunny hops all the time....it is a transition from either a fast pace to slower or slower to fast....it is just a speed they move....not related to the condition of the hips....there are a few posts on this forum about it. Remember all dogs are different. The personality of this pup is different from your previous dogs. I am sure the genetics are not identical either. And the playmates are probably not the same.

[mysweetkaos]

Originally Posted by Emoore

Humping is often more of a dominance thing than a sexual thing. If it's dominance, training will fix it better than neutering.

That said, I really don't think there's really a right or wrong decision with when to neuter. It's between you and your vet. I personally have chosen to wait, but I'm comfortable with handling an intact adult male dog, confident that I can prevent humping and marking, and confident that I can prevent him from roaming and finding a mate. If you're worried or concerned about any of those things, you might want to do the neuter now.

Someone else will have to answer you about the hip x-ray. I know that you can't get any hip certifications at 6 months old, but you can get an OFA preliminary reading and picture of what his hips look like of course.

I agree it is much more a dominance issue. Our 9 yr old was neutered around 5-6 months and up to that point he had never humped. Now he is quite a fan when he is playing with certain dogs. He is a sneaky one too....he goes over to our 9 month old when I'm not looking and "takes position" A "eh-eh" or "enough" from me and he sulks off like I just took away his fun. So neutering may not fix that at all....but time with training can help keep it controlled.

Originally Posted by luke4275

I was taught. based on my previous shep. when they bunny hop, that is a bad sign of either injury, lameness or poor hips.. etc.

Thanks for the replies suggesting humping is more related to dominance. I've only had 2 other dogs besides this one.. all white shps , and never once had a humping issue.

As for the hips. It can sometimes be a sign of problems, in my opinion. If it concerns you by all means have the x-ray. If I remember right our vet charged around $150 for them and then if they are great you can relax...and if their is an abnormality you can start taking pre-emptive measures.

[MaggieRoseLee]

click this --> When to spay/neuter? 6 months? 18 months? Never?

[GSDBESTK9]

It is a dominance thing but you should not allow it anyway, specially with strange dogs at the dog park. Never know how the other dog is going to react to that. Like others have said, start him in some training classes.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Keefer was neutered at 15 months old, but he still humps Halo ALL the time! She humps him too, but not as much, just occasionally rather than the several times a day that he does it to her. Neither of them do it to other dogs, just each other. I agree with not allowing it if your dog is doing it to dogs he does not know very well.

[msvette2u]

I thought I posted here but I don't see it!
I said (then lost the post, apparently)
Humping is a pretty normal dog thing, and one of our worst humpers is a girl who humps her brother all the time LOL
As for neuter, it's probably best decided between yourself and your vet, as you'll likely get 50 different answers here