Young Male - "Mounting" Everything...what should I do?

[Yvonne N]

What is the best method of correction. I have a ten week old male goldendoodle who is mounting legs and our cat...constantly. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Yvonne N]

He is not yet Neutered...my vet said 5 to 6 months. Yikes! I really would prefer to do it sooner than later. I don't want it to become a habit that is for sure. Our poor cat. If you could see his face.

[Doodle Kisses]

It is VERY normal in pups this age. So I wouldn't worry about it being a long term habit. While you certainly don't want to encourage it... most likely he'll do it less and less.

I would simply be consistent about calmly (no fuss, no screaming, or eye contact) barking a loud NO and then removing him and put him behind a baby gate or in his crate for a time out. Now this time out is not for him to 'think about things'...it is merely a consequence that says 'when you do THIS you end up very alone because nobody wants you around' -- don't be mean about it just matter of fact.

Keep a light leash with a cut off handle on him when you are supervising him (which should be ALWAYS when he is loose in the house). Then you can grab the leash and swiftly pull him off the cat as you say NO (or 'OFF' if you'd rather say that) and take him to his confined area. Give him 5-10 min time out and then let him be free again.

OR you can squirt him with a water bottle without making a fuss.

But whatever you do...pick ONE thing and do it EVERY TIME for a while (he'll forget and do it for a while still...but don't let up or give up). If you switch techniques too much u will be ineffective.

The main thing is a consequence (social isolation works well!) given to him without any hoopla (or else he'll think u are playing) and CONSISTENT application of that consequence.

[Yvonne N]

Thank you. Consistency is the key...always. And another thank you to you that the BE A TREE really does work. Like magic the very first time. We will pick one of the ideas above and put it into action tonight.

[Adina P]

Oh awesome...glad that Be A Tree helped, Yvonne! (I'm the same Adina as above, just on a real computer now vs. my phone).

[Lynne B]

My trainer said that humping can show excitement as much as anything else. She said her female humps when she's excited, she just separates the dogs & if required gives them a time out but doesn't make a big deal out of it

[Sharon, Boo & Cricket]

Maybe you can give him something okay to hump, like a big stuffed animal. :) Maybe redirect him to the stuffed animal when he's trying to hump you or the cat (hahaha!) I don't think all humping is bad, my younger doodle humps her stuffed animals when she's frustrated and it helps her relieve stress. :)

[Kendra K. Rhoton]

Yvonne, this is definitely a dominance issue. Remington will hump me but he doesn't dare do that to Dan my fiancee. When he does it to me I give him a firm spank on the butt... not enough to hurt him but enough to let him know that is unacceptable behavior. I don't spank him any other time... only when he does this! I think he has only humped 3 times since his first spank so I think this works :) Hope this helps :)