# Talk to me about the testosterone surge...



## curlflooffan (Mar 27, 2020)

Sorry I can't help because we always got our boys neutered. But I wanted to warn you that boy brain does not factor in size differences. My mum's yorkshire terrier tried really hard to make LabradorXyorkie puppies and even RottweilerXyorkie puppies before he got neutured. 

Bitches have been known to lie down to give the little male access... So you are never safe even when one would think that the mating would be anatomically impossible... Nature finds a way!


----------



## MaizieFrosty (Apr 12, 2019)

Frosty's lasted until he was neutered. Overnight, he was a different (and perfect) dog!


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I’m new to ownership of a male puppy.

Someone had a bitch in heat in one of my dog training clubs. No one knows who it was but people were complaining… females can react too.

Theo kept sniffing, then he started drooling and chattering his teeth for an extended period of time. We were in class and I was able to get him back to work with me and moved to another part of the room. 

My friends bitch is in heat so I got some swabs from her and plan to desensitize Theo. I haven’t quite figured out how I will do this. 

I hope to keep him intact at least till he’s two. He’s not showing any other problematic behavior like humping or marking in appropriately.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Buckle up - we're in for a bumpy ride...


----------



## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

I can trust Elroy off leash only if there's no chance of him running into traffic, meaning only if we're in the undeveloped woods/fields. He's very good 95% of the time, but that 5% chance just isn't worth it. Spotting other dogs is the biggest risk to causing him to lose his mind.


----------



## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

The hormones start to calm down when they reach age 2. Misha has never been insane about in-heat females, but he will sometimes try to flirt and lick them. I think exposure helps a lot to remove the novelty. We've also experienced in-heat females being quite pushy in their flirtatious with him. Sometimes when he is clearly put off by their advances.

I would say patience and training will get you through it. There will be ups and downs and they can drive you crazy. But I think most dogs settle down into well-mannered adults if you put the work in.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I doubt any intact male would listen to anything in the presence of a bitch in heat. If there are females in season in your area, make sure to keep him on a lead at all times.


----------



## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

Dechi said:


> I doubt any intact male would listen to anything in the presence of a bitch in heat. If there are females in season in your area, make sure to keep him on a lead at all times.


If that were true, it would be very hard for them to compete in all of the sport venues where bitches in heat are also allowed to compete. It is a distraction like any other. Some males have more trouble than others. In my experience many neutered males are just as distracted as the intact ones.

ETA: I definitely agree that caution is warranted any time a dog is allowed off lead. I am very careful with where I allow Misha off lead even if I can trust him to recall from a female in heat. But I have found that a can of dumped cat food is way more enticing to him than a female in heat. Where I live, you'll find plenty of both, and so I take precautions.


----------



## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I think you need to carefully pick the circumstances when you allow him off lead. It’s that 5%, mentioned earlier that gives me serious anxiety. I envy you having been able to let your crew free on their lovely walks by the river. I wouldn’t trust Freddy unless you always have a spoonful of pancakes for a while, like another year, lol.


----------



## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

Raindrops said:


> f that were true, it would be very hard for them to compete in all of the sport venues where bitches in heat are also allowed to compete. It is a distraction like any other.


Hmm, I don’t agree it’s a distraction like any other. Yes, some males will be better behaved than others in that situation. But nature is strong, and given the chance (which we don’t, of course) some males will fight over females in heat, sometimes to death. I would say it’s just about the biggest distraction there is for an intact male.


----------



## Raindrops (Mar 24, 2019)

Dechi said:


> Hmm, I don’t agree it’s a distraction like any other. Yes, some males will be better behaved than others in that situation. But nature is strong, and given the chance (which we don’t, of course) some males will fight over females in heat, sometimes to death. I would say it’s just about the biggest distraction there is for an intact male.


It is definitely true that it can be a huge distraction for some dogs. I see different cultures having different expectations of males around females. And many trainers specifically train dogs to work around the scent of a bitch in season. They train to resist the same way they train a dog to ignore food or toys. So for me it is not so different. Some males have zero interest in females. Some lose their minds. But it certainly is something trainable. The first time Misha met a bitch in season he was head over heels. He still recalled fine, but he definitely wanted to go back to her rather than stay with me. Now he will usually try to flirt with them if they are around, but he leaves with me when I ask. Of course it is irresponsible for people to have the in season dogs off leash, but that's what dumb people sometimes do here. When it happens, some of the males have issues and others don't. Some of the ones that I've seen have issues are neutered.

I'm just trying to say it isn't an untrainable situation for most dogs. And it isn't limited to intact dogs. But it's normal for a dog to be super distracted especially if they have no experience with it. It's completely impossible to avoid in heat female scent where I live, so I think I have a different perspective.


----------



## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

Basil is 3/4 the way through her second heat and pee's right next to the side walk to drive the boys wild.

_My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
And they're like, it's better than yours._


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Freddy will be trailing a line again for a while, and I will up the value of rewards - I only had very boring ones with me yesterday and it showed. On the occasions I have met even entire male dogs round here when mine were in season it has not been a major issue - they were interested but were either called away if off leash or led away if that didn't work, so I know it is definitely not insuperable. But it is all new and overwhelmingly exciting for Freddy, who is growing up in leaps and bounds. It is sometimes hard to remember that the pup who was like a six year old boy a month or two back is now more like a 14 year old! His hormones are definitely surging - it should ease off by the time he is 12-18 months old from what I have read. I'm hoping toys' early maturity mean it will be a little earlier than that. As Raindrops says, the scent cannot be avoided round here, so forewarned is forearmed.


----------

