Better behavior with neutering???

My boyfriend has a 3 year old intact male dachshund. He is a chronic whiner and humps things occasionally. When he is around my parents 2 spayed female dachshunds he goes nuts...can't leave them alone. He has yet to be neutered, because my boyfriend would like to breed him. I've been trying to inform him of the benefits of neutering him, but I could you some information.
Do you think his whining and women chasing will improve with sterilization??
Would breeding him make his behavior better or worse?? Permently??
I've tried to look up information on the internet but everything I'm finding relates to health and sterilization.

I appreciate any advice. Thanks so much.
Ashley and "Oscar"

 

I found some links regarding the effects of neutering on behavior that I thought you might be interested in:

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/CCAH/Upda ... ering.html

http://www3.us.elsevierhealth.com/commu ... tions.html

 

also on the breeding part - has your BF done all the necessary genetic testing to ensure good health of potential offspring?
Has the dog been proven in the show ring, confirmation, etc.
First thing, if he does decide he has the perfect stud, is to do genetic testing to rule out genetic defects of the breed

 

he he he, just for the record, neutering your dog will NOT stop it from humping things!!! I have two neutered dogs and they still hump everything. It's a dominence thing. They get all competitive and start humping you, each other, their toys.

However, I dont plan on fixing my new puppy because I want to breed him at least once. Although, I still have to test him for hip dysplasia, etc. I'm hoping that having one in-tact dog in a house of 4 dogs wont cause any problems! Anyone have dogs that are and are not fixed living together?

 

Here is a great article. I LOVE DR. NICHOLAS DODMAN, HE's the MAN, I once went to one of his seminar's he is the BEST!


HUMPING

By: Dr. Nicholas Dodman


Managing and retraining a dominant dog can help curb a dog's desire to assert power and position over the dog's owner.
Section: Humping in Dogs

Although humping is considered a sexual action, it can also be used to signal power and rank. Dogs do, in effect, employ humping as a way of asserting authority. Whatever the motivation, when humping is directed toward peoples’ legs, or objects in the environment, the result is the same: embarrassment for the dog owner and any guests who happen to be present.

Intact (unneutered) male dogs are most likely to engage in this disturbing behavior but neutered males and females may also express the behavior. The presence of sex hormones facilitates but does not dictate this annoying behavior. One out of three neutered male dogs and the occasional neutered female still engage in humping years after neuter surgery. Even when it’s slated to disappear, humping may persist for several months after surgery before its frequency and intensity eventually wanes.

Why Dogs Hump

The first and most obvious reason dogs hump is sexual. Intact males can perform humping as displaced sexual behavior analogous to masturbation. The fact that some dogs achieve orgasm while humping is testimony to this fact. Some male dogs continue to hump after neutering, possibly attempting to recreate the pleasure that the behavior once brought them. This could also be the reason why neutering is not immediately effective in curtailing the behavior in formerly intact dogs. It could be that it takes some time for the neutered dog to learn that things will never be the same. In one mixed-sex colony of intact dogs, neutering of males did not change the frequency of mounting or even penetration of bitches by these males for years following neuter surgery, indicating just how potent the memory of pleasure was in these dogs.

But sexual motivation is not the whole story because inexperienced neutered males and some females hump as well. The conclusion must be that mounting behavior ("humping") is genetically encoded in both sexes and may be activated by not only testosterone but also by other natural forces.

Motivationally speaking, dominance, or at least the wish to be dominant, seems to be another factor. Perhaps dominant "wannabes" obtain some intrinsic reward from engaging in the behavior. A chemical in the brain called serotonin is intimately involved in the desire and capacity to be dominant, and this chemical may play a role in the humping behavior. For instance, if a dog that previously hadn’t engaged in humping has low levels of brain serotonin, he may feel as if he’s in a funk. This situation might lead to feelings of agitation and also tend to enhance aggressive or impulsive behavior. The mental conquest afforded by humping might boost serotonin levels, as occurs in monkeys following a victorious interactions with other monkeys, creating a feeling of well-being and satisfaction.

In nature, the dominant dog is the one who get the privilege of breeding receptive bitches. It is not “first come, first served” but truly a contest of mental and physical strength. Nature has designed the brain centers that control sexual behavior and dominant aggressive behavior to be confluent so that sex drive and the need for social/political success are virtually inseparable qualities in all group-living species. Even in the absence of sex hormones and “true” sexual motivation, the other half of the equation is still operational, however redundant that may seem.

The fact that females also hump is hardly surprising. No behavior is purely male or purely female, though “sexually dimorphic” behaviors are, by definition, more common in one sex than the other. Humping is one such behavior, being far more common in males yet also a feature of some dominant females' behavioral repertoires. In addition, intact bitches may have appreciable levels of testosterone in their bloodstream, providing another facet to this already complicated situation.


Dealing With This Behavior
· Neutering intact males that are not to be used for breeding will reduce humping in some 60 percent of dogs. Some respond rapidly to neutering while others take several months to “unlearn” the behavior. Dominant dogs may continue to hump more or less indefinitely following neutering unless other measures are taken as well.
· Managing and retraining a dominant dog can help reducing humping, of people, at least. The essence of this retraining a 10 or 12 step leadership program for the dog’s owners to employ during interactions with their dogs. The message transmitted to the dog is one of having to work for what he wants and needs. This program catapults owners into a more respected leadership role, elevating them, in the dog’s eyes, to an immune-to-humping status within the family pack.
· Theoretically, drugs like fluoxetine (Prozac®) should deter humping by reducing libido and stabilizing dominance. The more stable dominance that results should make humping redundant.

Humping, while a nuisance for dog owners, is an interesting and biologically appropriate behavior. It is designed by nature in the interests of procreation but also signifies power and control. Although it may seem counterintuitive that females would be programmed to hump, no procreative behaviors are confined only to one sex only. Males are, in effect, modifications of the basic female blueprint so each sex has the potential for performing any and all of the behaviors exhibited by the other one, including sexual behaviors. Humping is one of those more-likely-to-be-seen-in-a-male types of behaviors, along with roaming, aggression to other males, and leg lifting. We should recognize the sameness and celebrate the difference!