neutering

My staffy pup is 4 months old, i know this is too young right now but i want to know the right as for him to be neutered as at the moment hes humping his bed and my leg!

Most will say 2 years plus, only had girls and both of which I have had done young. Training is the best method for stopping unwanted behavior.

Humping is not necessarily sexual, and so won't be affected by neutering!

It can be caused by surging hormones, yes, but those hormones are needed to ensure proper growth (physically and mentally) and to turn a pup into a confident and calm adult.

I, personally, don't neuter at all, and I've never had a problem with my dogs. However, if, after careful consideration, you do decide to neuter, then it's best to wait until full maturity; about 2 years old for a stafford.

If you want to stop the humping, just do what you would do with nipping..."No!", turn away & ignore. If he's humping a cushion, then "Leave", take it away & ignore.

What do you feed him, by the way & how much exercise does he get?

He gets fed the James wellbeloved puppy dry food and i take him out twice aday which are an hour long walk each, including the dog parks which he goes to, however if i can only manage to take him out once in a day for an hour i make sure he goes around my estate for an half an hour walk.

Take care not to over exercise. The general rule of thumb is 5 minutes lead walking per month of age, plus off lead play/running as long as they're allowed to rest whenever they need to. Too much lead Walking on hard ground can weaken the tendons at his age. Once he gets to about 6 months old you can build up to longer walks.

Don't let the vet fool you into thinking that castration will stop humping - castrated dogs will still hump, and so will bitches! 

so 20 minute lead walk for him? once or twice aday? i tend to walk him to the park which takes around 20 minutes, stay for about 40minutes where he is off lead and 20 minutes back.. for a 4 month old puppy he has so much energy which i try to burn off otherwise he can be really naughty and hyper.. with the breed side of him im not 100% sure what he is crossed with, everyone who has come into contact with him always states that he is crossed with a boxer (brindle boxer) but im none the wiser

It can be hard to tell what they are crossed with!

chelsea.hoath wrote:so 20 minute lead walk for him? once or twice aday? i tend to walk him to the park which takes around 20 minutes, stay for about 40minutes where he is off lead and 20 minutes back.. for a 4 month old puppy he has so much energy which i try to burn off otherwise he can be really naughty and hyper.. with the breed side of him im not 100% sure what he is crossed with, everyone who has come into contact with him always states that he is crossed with a boxer (brindle boxer) but im none the wiser

At his age he should be getting 20 minutes on lead per walk, 2 or 3 walks a day. The problem with on lead walking is that the dog is 'forced' to keep going, and the hard ground plays havoc with soft, growing tendons, muscles & bones.

Ideally, the walk to the park shouldn't be longer than 10 or 15 minutes maximum. Maybe a 5 minute rest before you walk back will help him recover enough for the return journey? Make sure the return walk is taken fairly slowly so that he doesn't strain himself.

Bacchus used to hump legs, feet, other dogs etc. and constantly had to be told off but he's grown out of it. It's unlikely to be sexual, more of a dominance thing trying to assert himself.

i feel much better knowing marley isnt the only one who always did it haha... and for the walking home slowly part can be a problem because once he knows we are walking home he just pulls most of the way back even though i keep correcting him. when we leave the house he walks by my side at all times but thank you for the advice i will change the walking routine

My spayed bitch humped, so don't let vets fill your head with crap about neutering solving everything from a watery eye to world hunger!

Hayley wrote:My spayed bitch humped, so don't let vets fill your head with crap about neutering solving everything from a watery eye to world hunger!

Nice one Hayley:lol:  

Jax went through a brief humping stage around 4-5 months. We just instantly ignored him and stopped giving him any attention every time he did it and he's now almost 8 months and hasn't tried it since he was about 6 months. Think he's realized it's actually no fun... haha. Like others have said, neutering won't fix it. My parents still have the silky terrier I grew up with and she is 14 yrs old, spayed, and STILL humps every stuffed animal and human arm she can when she gets the chance!