# 7 week old puppy - humping already...



## kevintroy (Jul 18, 2010)

My puppy is 9 weeks old yesterday and yesterday he started humping, only problem is that its my leg he's loving right now! ive tried to give him a big fluffy toy dog that i have, a cushion, a throw, a beanbag, a shoe and nothing is working, he keeps wanting to hump my arm or my leg :\ I know it cant be helped but I didnt think it would start so early, what should I do to try get him to stop, right now im taking him off of me, telling him no and moving my leg away and trying to give him something else. He's a Bichon Frise if that makes any difference  I'm guessing at this age he's too young to be neutered. When i went to the vet for his 6-week vaccinations, I was told that one of his testicles had decended but the other hadn't yet 

I have heard that puppies do have this problem sometimes, will it maybe be that he'll do it for a short while, then stop, then it may come back when he is "hormonal" in his "teen" years?


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## Bella2604 (Jun 22, 2010)

My puppy has been humping since she was 8 weeks she likes to hump her bed


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

kevintroy said:


> *bold added - *
> 
> My puppy is *7-WO yesterday and yesterday he started humping, only problem is that its my leg* he's loving right now!
> ive tried to give him a big fluffy toy dog that i have, a cushion, a throw, a beanbag, a shoe and nothing is working,
> ...


WoW, kevin!  how old was he when U got him, hun?

if he was under 6-WO that is most-likely an enormous chunk of the problem - 
pups only get well-up on their legs for active play with their sibs + dam at 5-WO - and have to build endurance, 
so standing, walking + running all develop as short bursts before they are sustainable activities. *that 5-WO to 8-WO 
period of dog-learning is crucial* to normal dog-behavior in many ways, teaching play skills, what is not 
apropos or welcome, how to initiate play or stop the game, how to greet another dog, halt intimidation, etc.

i think this puppy missed a huge chunk of his litter-learning, and U are going to pay a price for it, in behavior. :nonod: 
how young was he when he left his dam + sibs?

concerned, 
--- terry


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## kevintroy (Jul 18, 2010)

Sorry i was actually wrong, dno how i got it mixed up, he was 9 weeks yesterday lol!! i got him on a friday and he was 9 weeks on the monday following  i still dont know how i managed to mix that up :|

He's been great in every other way, hes playful, he's starting to understand how to "sit" which I only started to teach him today, he does what i say a lot, he's toilet training pretty well (pees on mat mostly all the time - poos are getting better) and he is really settling in with my friends and family. He's tried to hump me twice today on the arm. I've been told that the best thing to do is to put him on his back and growl/shout (not loudly) at him for a couple of seconds

I edited the first post to make it 9 weeks instead of 7 (i still feel bad because of that lol!)

So to clarify: I meant 9 weeks, not 7. He was 3 days away from being 8 weeks old when I got him.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

kevintroy said:


> He's tried to hump me twice today on the arm. I've been told that the best thing to do is to put him on his back and growl/shout (not loudly) at him for a couple of seconds.


ah, thats MUCH better, :lol: never mind, just a mistake re the age. 

rather than roll, pin + growl, which are intimidating but do not offer him alternatives, i would have him 
wear his leash as a drag in the house, and use the LEASH not my hand to remove him gently, then offer 
a tug-toy or other activity - like shake a rattler or squeak a chew-toy, and toss it AWAY from me... a tug-toy in my pocket 
makes it E-Z to get him engaged in something exciting that completely buries the self-rewarding, solitary humping 
with some exciting, fun interaction.

what does he weigh, hun? 
age is not the limiting-factor in desex, it is weight - he must weigh a minimum of 2# for his safety in surgery, 
but any healthy pup over 2# weight can be desexed - FOR BITCHES it is preferable if at all possible, 
to wait until the F is 4-MO / 16-WO to spay, which levels the risk of spay-incontinence to identical 
to that of Fs who are spayed at 6-MO and over - there is from 16-WO, no difference statistically in the risk.

for M-pups there is no corresponding risk of urinary incontinence, and as he is cryptorchid, he must be desexed anyway - 
a friend of mine just got the sad news that her dog has Sartolis-tumors on his RETAINED testes, she adopted him 
at approx 3-YO from a shelter, who assumed he was desexed already - as his scrotum was empty; sadly, not - 
he was double-cryptorchid and poor *becky* at PACC is debating surgery plus chemo to possibly save her dog. 

most sources i have read say he should be desexed before 6-MO to avoid the testosterone-flush of advancing 
puberty enhancing his risk of carcinomas; as he is a toy-breed, his skeletal-growth will be very minimally 
affected, tho he might be a wee bit taller than an intact-brother.

if his behavior continued to be problematic, i would get him desexed just ASAP with a vet who is familiar with 
pediatric desex - he will heal faster, have fewer complications, and have less scarring, as well as less bleeding + less pain, 
being not as well-developed as a teenager - those are all advantages, IMO.

all my best, 
--- terry


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