7yo "Rescue"

[Kimblwl]

Hello everyone,

We just took in a 7yo yellow lab male that was one of the pets of my husband's 98yo grandmother (she also has a miniature poodle). She has caregivers that come to the house to help her, but they are afraid of large dogs, so they don't help her with him. The grandmother wasn't giving the lab, Rusty, all the medical care or physical care the dog needed, so we took him to be a part of our family. We are very familiar with Rusty, and he is amazing with both our kids and everyone he meets. He has a very large heart and is genuinely a happy, easy going dog.

I have had dogs all my life, and have used positive training techniques with them all, so I am very comfortable and like how Victoria Stillwell trains. Rusty is a very large (80 pounds or more) lab, and has not been neutered. We will remedy that ASAP. He has a few issues that need some work, but nothing too daunting (i.e., he doesn't know how to walk on a leash). Then today something weird started happening We brought him to our home Sunday night, and everything was normal. Then today he wouldn't stop humping our 3 year old son. Every chance he got, and sometimes he wasn't very gentle with his paws. Now if I was in the room and could tell what he was going to do,I would just say " Rusty" and he wouldn't even do it. So he is responsive to my commands. When he would do it if my back was turned or in another room, I would tell him "no," he'd stop and I would remove him from the room for dog timeout. My question is 3 parts really, 1) will this get better naturally after he is fixed? 2) why is he doing this, so suddenly, and only to my son? 3) am I handling it correctly?

Thank you.
Whitney

[Nettle]

Neutering is best held off for now, or not done at all. At his age especially there are no benefits, but if you are dead set on it, he needs to adjust to his new life before he has any more stress and the major drop in confidence that follows neutering.

The humping is a classic stress response. Repetitive rhythmic action releases endorphins. So he needs to do it - but humping people is a huge no-no. I would say provide him with a hump-toy, perhaps a huge cushion or a pillow - and when he gets That Look, redirect him firmly but calmly to his hump toy, right away from your child and preferably in another room. He will soon get the picture - at first it will seem as if it's every few minutes, but after increasing the behaviour (it's called an Extinction Burst) it should in time die away of its own accord. If anyone makes a fuss about it, it becomes an attention-getter and so harder to eradicate, so if you have any fussy adults coming round who might behave inappropriately, or additional children, put dog and hump toy in another room, or keep him on a lead beside you.

You have done a great kindness taking him on, but he will still be very stressed as his life has changed so much, and it sounds as if his needs have not been met for a very long time (love is not enough - they need exercise and occupation, which companion dogs for elderly or sick people seldom get). You are now setting this right for him. Scent games and finding-things games will help him settle and give him confidence, so his stress habits should soon go away. Check out our Exercise the Mind thread for good ideas.

[Kimblwl]

Thank you so much for the advice. I never considered giving him a hump toy. That's brilliant. As far as the neutering, I will take your suggestions into strong consideration. I have always been told it is best for their health for them to be fixed at any age. So this is definitely something to think about. Again, thank you so very much.

[Nettle]

Veterinary stats show that entire male dogs when old are prone to getting benign prostate tumours, while neutered males tend to get malignant prostate tumours. So you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't

Older male humans are prone to getting malignant prostatic tumours too but strangely castration is never advised as a preventative.