# Teenage Testosterone Puppy



## SitkatheGSD (Aug 24, 2017)

Ok, so I know that Sitka is going through the teenage years and I want to be prepared.

He just hit 8 months and hsan't started humping or marking anything, but he has almost done both.

He has started 'barking back' at training and generallly acting more obstinate.

Although he hesn't mounted anything yet he has jumped up and got in position a number of times.

My question is, what am I in for?

He's 8 months, very strong drive working line GSD -- what should I expect?

He hasn't mounted yet, but what do I do when he does?

He's not marking. Will he? How do I stop it if he does?

Thanks for the adive


----------



## cloudpump (Oct 20, 2015)

My male doesn't hump anything because I don't allow it. Correct him if he's doing something you won't allow. Same as marking, if we are walking I tell him no, correct if he's being an ass. 
He did mark at a store the other day when I was reading something. I caught him mid squirt and corrected. 
Hes never marked in my house. He knows the rules.


----------



## Trix (Jun 22, 2017)

Geeze, my pup began humping his grinch stuffed animal at around 3.5 months. Can’t imagine what I must be in for. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Kyrielle (Jun 28, 2016)

SitkatheGSD said:


> Ok, so I know that Sitka is going through the teenage years and I want to be prepared.
> 
> He just hit 8 months and hsan't started humping or marking anything, but he has almost done both.
> 
> ...


Well, if he wasn't really a humper as a younger puppy, then he probably won't be a humper now.

A lot of the following will be affected if your puppy is or is not neutered. Most everything listed is slightly more intense with an intact male.

Anyway, some things:


He's going to ignore you and disobey commands for no other reason than to test you to see if you really mean it. Make sure you really mean it!
He's going to test you in terms of acceptable behaviors. He'll get more obstinate, bratty, and demanding. If he wants you to pet him, he'll physically push you, bark at you, whine incessantly, and just be incredibly annoying until you give in. Don't put up with it. Don't give in.
He'll get distracted more easily. Especially with anything living. Female dogs are suddenly super interesting. Critters are suddenly FOOD! Deer must be chased recklessly. People are suddenly both more interesting and more suspicious.
You may see more mounting behavior when he plays with other dogs. [With Jack, we just let the other dogs decide if they enjoyed this (provided the other dog wasn't in heat...). 99% of them don't, so they corrected him appropriately.] Obviously if you see mounting behavior with humans, you'll want to correct that immediately.
If Sitka is still intact, you'll probably see more scuffles with other male dogs. I suppose some neutered dogs still get into confrontations when adolescents. Usually this is to establish hierarchy, and such scuffles are very brief (though scary sounding) and the aftermath often devolves into disinterest or rough play.
Expect him to start barking more at people outside of the house, and expect periods of paranoia over various situations he was fine in before. Ex: He had no problems with guests in the house when he was younger, but now he's barking at guests and/or eyeing them suspiciously. You might also experience a little superstitious behavior when he encounters something odd. Like a bag drifting in the wind. Suddenly that bag is floating due to some sorcery and must be watched carefully for any potential threatening movements.
In terms of marking, he probably will at some point. If he does it when/where you don't want him to, correct him and move him away from the spot. If you're walking and he won't stop marking, just keep walking--drag him along if you have to. If you're indoors/at a store, give him a strong correction. Pet stores are going to test you as dogs pee in there all the time.


----------



## LuvmySlyguy (Aug 28, 2017)

My male is 8 months now and he's having the bratty teenage attitude. He grumbles at me when I correct him. My advice to you is to be firm and let him know you're still the one in charge and keep being consistent with him even when he's "back talking" you. Hopefully it'll pass lol
Mine hasn't started marking or jumping yet either, thank goodness haha


----------



## LuvmySlyguy (Aug 28, 2017)

Kyrielle said:


> SitkatheGSD said:
> 
> 
> > Ok, so I know that Sitka is going through the teenage years and I want to be prepared.
> ...



that's good info to know!!! Thank you


----------



## Hellish (Jul 29, 2017)

While on topic with 8 month old intact males.. I have to ask.. the umm.. red rocket.. I mean I am about to rename him Priapus after the god of the perpetual erection. 

He was humping a stuffed cat bed at 3 months so I removed that from the environment. I do catch him trying to position our fearless 20 lb. tomcat for action, but the cat wont stay still for it of course. I figured he was wanting to dominate the cats. 

So far, he has not grabbed onto my old neutered dog nor the people in the household. But he is excited a good deal of the time and luckily he ignores that fact about himself.. 

Will this taper off once his hormones level out?


----------



## GandalfTheShepherd (May 1, 2017)

Hellish said:


> While on topic with 8 month old intact males.. I have to ask.. the umm.. red rocket.. I mean I am about to rename him Priapus after the god of the perpetual erection.
> 
> He was humping a stuffed cat bed at 3 months so I removed that from the environment. I do catch him trying to position our fearless 20 lb. tomcat for action, but the cat wont stay still for it of course. I figured he was wanting to dominate the cats.
> 
> ...


Mine gets turned on whenever my husband comes home... he isn't a dog person either so this makes him really uncomfortable lol. I'd love to know when this stops too!!!


----------



## Kyrielle (Jun 28, 2016)

GandalfTheShepherd said:


> Mine gets turned on whenever my husband comes home... he isn't a dog person either so this makes him really uncomfortable lol. I'd love to know when this stops too!!!


Would love to know, too. XD

It's really creepy when Jack's just sitting there staring at us blissfully while rocking the rocket...


----------



## zeb1138 (Nov 7, 2017)

cloudpump said:


> My male doesn't hump anything because I don't allow it. Correct him if he's doing something you won't allow. Same as marking, if we are walking I tell him no, correct if he's being an ass.
> He did mark at a store the other day when I was reading something. I caught him mid squirt and corrected.
> Hes never marked in my house. He knows the rules.


Are you talking about any marking or marking specifically indoors? You said "at a store," but that could mean in front of the store or actually inside it. If the latter, that completely makes sense. If the former, does that mean you don't let them mark on walks? Why?


----------



## Armistice (Oct 12, 2017)

My 12wk old female has mounted my inlaw's border collie twice. It's funny, but I don't want it to become habit. No clue why she does it as she's a female


----------

