My 10-month Bernese humps everything. Is it hormones or neutering?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your question. It is never a guarantee that this behavior will be corrected by neutering but in many cases it does help quite a bit. Many times this behavior is because the male dog is establishing dominance over another animal. Other times, this is breeding behavior and is corrected by the drop in testosterone after neutering. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Jax may be humping due to being intact. Dogs can also hump if they are anxious or to show dominance. Neutering him may help curb this behavior. The pain may be due to friction and trauma. I would stop him as soon as he starts to hump. I hope this helps!

It sounds like your vet is recommending having Victor neutered. When combined with training, this procedure can help reduce unwanted behaviours such as humping. Please see the links below for more information: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/spayneuter-your-pet https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/documents/benefits-of-neutering-your-male-dog

The best thing you can do for him right now to help correct this behavior is to get him neutered. As he grows and starts to produce more testosterone, he can start to become more aggressive and dominant as male dogs are prone to these behaviors. Once they learn the behavior, it can be difficult to train them out of it. But if you spay him now before he has a chance to fully develop these tendencies, it will keep further behavior problems from worsening. It should also stop the humping behavior. After his neuter, if he still seems like he is having issues with aggression, you will want to enroll him in a training course or work with a behaviorist to help you establish yourself as the one in charge. Training courses are there to teach us how to respond to our pets as much as they are to train our pets to respond to us. Aggression is something you want to tackle early before they h ave a chance to become routine behaviors.

There are some studies that recently may have found a correlation between earlier neutering and an increased risk for joint issues. This is pretty new evidence and at this point I think it's not really clear what the risks and benefits are. I typically recommend waiting until a male dog has reached his adult size, usually around 1 year, to neuter BUT in situations where the dog is showing undesirable behaviors potentially related to sex hormones I strongly recommend neutering earlier. If you were planning on having him neutered by 8 months I doubt 1.5 months of growth would make much of a difference for his bones and joints, so I would considering scheduling the neuter now. You could always talk to your veterinarian about pros and cons as well.

Hi and thanks for you post. Male dogs do not go into heat as females do. Females go into heat twice a year as part of their normal estrus cycle. Males do not. If he is not neutered, the testosterone he has pumping through his body can cause the behaviors you have described in more frequency than neutered males. Neutering Cecil is the best way to help decrease these behaviors as well as prevent testicular cancers and prostatic cancers. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Humping is not only a sexual behavior, it can also be a dominance behavior, a stress response, etc. Any new changes lately - new pet in the home, any major changes in his routine or in the house? I suggest you refer to this article for more information. Hope this helps. ( https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/mounting-and-masturbation )