male dog!!!!

portgirl123

My sis in law took in a male dog last week, not sure of breed small hairy thing, she said maybe cav/shih tzu x. Apparently was always running around estate, family didnt care much about it. they were moving didnt want to bring it with them so my sis in law said she would take him, if it settled after yrs of roaming it could stay with her if not she would home him. Anyways she loves dogs to bits but there is 2 problems. 1. she is finding it very hard for him settle in house, he wants to be out as he always has been. He has to be at least 8. 2nd thing and which is worrying her more is the humping. He apparently will hump anything, including her kids, visitors, cushions you name it he humps it. she has brought him to vet to be vax, god knows when he was last done and asked vet about this, she is getting him done in 2 weeks time, lack of funds after xmas is why she has to wait but vet told her that this could now be a learned behaviour and netering may not help.
She loves this little lad always has done always used to bring him in and let him sit by fire etc. he is a old boy as i said at least 8. so what i think im trying to say is will he settle and can they get him out of the humping

seamus

You can teach an old dog new tricks. It just takes a little longer

Neutering will help, and with more than just the humping. The vet is right in that this could be habitual behaviour which the dog is accustomed to and perhaps was even praised for in the past, but like everything else it can be trained out of him.

If he was left run around outside from a young age, he will take quite a bit of work to get used to a routine at home and things like walking on the lead. But it is most definitely possible to get him to "settle".

I would say her best bet is to speak to a good trainer and perhaps get a few one-on-one lessons to bring her through the basics of training the dog as well as specific tips for getting rid of the dog's worst behaviours and training a more elderly dog.

toadfly

I guess every dog is different but we got our second dog when he was 5 (ish), got him neutured after having him two months. He humped everything when we got him as well as marking inside but neuturing stopped all that. Maybe we were lucky I dont know but it worked for us.

Shazanne

When we got our second dog (a male) my first dog (a female) was constantly humping him:eek: I did alot of research and established that this is a way of showing dominance, especially if the dog feels threatened or overwhelmed. In your case this sounds like a likely explanation as the dog is experiencing a lot of change in its life and is trying to adapt.
Certainly go ahead with neutering etc but I think you'll find that he will settle down after a while when his confidence and trust builds up.
Well done to your sis-in-law for taking in the dog:)
PS; The humping has more or less stopped here now - unless he takes her toy or treat - then it's jiggy jiggy time again:eek::D

portgirl123

thanks for all your replys will pass them on. he is a sweet dog id say a lot of it is stress. poor thing is not used to be confined into a HOUSE. RANG MY SIS In law today says he seems to be settling a bit better, seems a bit happier. She has another dog and he aint trying to hump her its mostly things, she says, like her coat, child jumper, she says it seems to be mostly what they have been wearing. She says couple of weeks will defo get him done