Pestering Neutered Male Dog

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TimDoyle
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Joined: 10 Apr 2012, 22:13
First Name: Tim
Dog #1: Monty
is a: P/S Mini Dog
Born: 16 Mar 2012
is a: P/S Mini Dog
Location: South Yorkshire

Pestering Neutered Male Dog

Post by TimDoyle »

Hi folks
It’s a long time since I’ve been on the forum but the behaviour of our mini today has inspired me to reach out for some help.

Our mini is called Elliot and he’s a 7 year old intact male. He’s always been interested in the ladies but the arrival of our son’s neutered Italian greyhound seems to have changed Elliot’s “interest’s”. Elliot will not leave Snoop alone. He’s following him around trying to lick his ears and his “bits”. When he’s told to stop he stands there panting for a while and then carries on with his interest in Snoop. The two have met many times before both before and after Snoop’s castration and while we have seen some much milder versions of today’s behaviour after Snoop’s operation but nothing has come close to the obsessive behaviour we have seen today, Elliot is just being relentless.

Has anyone seen this or have some advice on how we might moderate Elliot’s behaviour?

Many thanks in advance

Tim
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zeta1454
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Re: Pestering Neutered Male Dog

Post by zeta1454 »

How long is it since Snoop was neutered? It is not uncommon for entire male dogs to show increased interest or even try to hump a newly castrated male dog. I guess that it must relate to a change in the scent which attracts them. It does usually settle down though as time passes but there can be occasional intense episodes as you describe. Our male dogs are now all neutered but we did in the recent past have an entire male who would obsess over our younger neutered male dog. As they live together it is easier for us to have a perspective of the behaviour over an extended period of time compared to if Snoop is an occasional or even regular visitor. In our experience it is not something which continues ar that intensity or even happens on a constant basis as the entire male becomes more used to the different scent of the neutered male. However there may still be the odd time when it happens briefly.

In terms of what to do about it, that is more difficult. It isn’t really a behaviour which can be ‘ordered’ out of the dog, in our experience. You could try a distraction - such as getting the dogs to play with a toy, throwing a fetch toy for them etc. to take Elliot’s mind off Snoop! If it is really causing Snoop distress then it may be a question of keeping the two apart if Elliot starts acting in this way. It may be that if you continually take Elliott away from Snoop he may get the idea that he will lose his playmate by his behaviour and that might settle him.

I think that it is likely to ease off in time anyway and not necessarily become a really difficult issue especially if Snoop makes it clear to Elliott that he doesn’t want the attention. We noticed with our dogs that once the neutered male became annoyed with the attention from the intact male it did help to reduce the behaviour more effectively than if we intervened. It didn’t mean a fight just a clear ‘get off me’ signal and going away out of reach.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

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User avatar
TimDoyle
Member
Posts: 51
Joined: 10 Apr 2012, 22:13
First Name: Tim
Dog #1: Monty
is a: P/S Mini Dog
Born: 16 Mar 2012
is a: P/S Mini Dog
Location: South Yorkshire

Re: Pestering Neutered Male Dog

Post by TimDoyle »

Many thanks for your wise response! Today has been much more relaxed and I think Elliot’s obsession has subsided significantly today. He has still been interested but the novelty seems to have passed.

Many thanks for your help!
Have a great Christmas!
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