My unneutered dog is mounting. How to manage behavior before neuter?

Question

Today we rescued a pit bull who has not yet been neutered. He appears to be in heat, as he is relentlessly trying to mount my older dog and also just jumping away at the air, and whining restlessly. I have an appointment to have him neutered next week but in the meantime is there anything I can give or so for him? He's driving my older dog crazy and clearly not comfortable. He's happy, has a full appetite and all that, just horny as all heck. Pet's info: Dog | Pit Bull Terrier | Male | unneutered | 60 lbs

Rebeccah Wood · Accepted Answer

Hello there! I understand the frustration of having an unneutered male dog. They don't have hormone cycles like females do, so they don't have a "heat" like females do. Essentially, their hormone levels are the same all the time, which can be even more frustrating. Mounting behavior is not all hormonal, and does have a component of dominance (so he may still do this even after he's neutered). Even females will mount other dogs if they want to express their dominance over them. The mounting behavior will hopefully abate once a dominance hierarchy is established in your home between the dogs, but not necessarily. It can also spur fights, so be watchful over your dogs when they are together, and I recommend against leaving them alone together until you are comfortable with Shadow's personality and interactions with your older dog. Neutering may help, but it takes a long time for those hormones to get out of their system (at least a month), so in the meantime, consistent training can be helpful in stopping the behavior. I have seen some trainers keep a leash and harness on a dog that jumps or mounts, so that when the dog starts to jump up, they can step on the leash and prevent it. It's important to have another task for your dog to do instead of jumping/mounting, so starting off with teaching a solid "sit" could be helpful. Reward him with a treat for any positive behavior, and ignore undesired behavior. I highly recommend contacting a good trainer or veterinary behaviorist if the behavior continues. Best of luck to you and to Shadow!

My unneutered dog is mounting. How to manage behavior before neuter?

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