Vet recommends neutering my 7-month puppy for humping. Why?

I would get your puppy fixed now. It's fine to get them neutered as young as eight weeks of age, and if he's showing some sexual behaviors such as humping other dogs, he could be approached sexual maturity. Keep in mind that neutered dogs can still get erections. I would speak to the vet about neutering him, and I would also ask for a recommendation to a professional behavioral expert. You want to stop that toy aggression now before it gets worse, and a professional behavioral expert would be best to work with you on that. Good luck, I hope this helps!

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.

At 4 months and 13 days old he can be neutered. The humping could also be an attempt to establish dominance. Do not let him hump, tell him "NO" and then remove him to his sleeping place. Schedule an appointment for having him neutered.

It is impoirtant that you follow your vet's instructions regarding the vaccinations. But you do have a problem that needs immediate attention, and that is allowing Arjun to sit in your lap! It may be cute now, but it won't be when he's full-grown. If you have gotten him used to this behavior, you cannot one day just decide that he is too big/heavy and try to stop it. This is confusing and unfair to the dog, and you may find that some behaviot problems develop. Neutering is an excellent plan, and may very well help with the humping behavior.

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 and thank you for your post. Neutering him will help eradicate this behavior for sure. Neutering around a year of age would be recommended. He will likely continue this behavior until he gets neutered. Best to you and Harry! Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!