OH NO>>>>not yet My 2 year old male boxer has realized that his 4 mo old companion is a she

[demtenjeep]

We have an appointment to get her spayed next month...We already wanted her fixed, but the vet wants her to have all her shots ect. WE want what is best for her so we set it all up.

Yesterday, we caught them/him twice trying to mount her. She is TOO young and not even in heat yet.


What would you do. We just loudly said NO each time.

[Scuba]

1. Abstinence education has proved very successful in such situations. Yeah, that's it.

[rocktivity]

2. DUzy candidate!

rocktivity

[Sanity Claws]

3. Mounting is also a display of dominance

She is so young and not yet fertile. My guess is that he is mounting her to establish his dominance.

[demtenjeep]

4. that is what my husband said as well

but he has already established his rank in our home. Guess maybe he wants to make it very clear

[TBF]

5. In this case it sounds like that's probably what's going on.

At the doggie daycare I took my lab too they would say no to the dogs if they'd do it and they also had a spray bottle of water to squirt at dogs for infractions if they would not listen to verbal commands. I only saw them do that once or twice - most of the dogs responded easily to a no. Catching them at it and being consistent is key (like everything else with kids and dogs!).

[livvy]

10. When this happens at the daycare center while I'm working...

I usually just gently pull the dog off by the collar, praise him once he's on his own 4 feet, and give him an "uh, uh" if he starts to go back to it, and praise him if he stops the attempt. I use my body to block if he continues to try to get to the other dog, and again lots of praise once the attempts stop. Some of the bigger dogs require quite a bit of pull, and many require lots of repetitions of the training sequence, but most dogs get it eventually. Most of our regulars know if I say, "Don't even think about it." they aren't going to get away with it, and don't make the attempt. Like you said, you have to be consistent, and it's best to catch it before it even starts.
We do have some habitual "humpty-dumpers" and they can require lots of attention. For them we often use a time out when they just won't give it up, and if that doesn't do it, removal from the floor for the remainder of the play period as it can really ruin the play period and attitude of their victims, especially younger dogs or those on the more timid side (not to mention really ticking off a more experienced or outgoing dog).
Some of the daycare personnel use a water bottle also, but I prefer a more hands on approach and seldom use one. Telling a dog to stop and giving them a squirt before they even get a chance to respond (or even understand what you are asking them to do or not do) seems unfair to me. I keep my squirts in reserve for when they are really needed.
It sounds like your daycare folks are on their toes and sensitive to the well-being of their "guests"!

[hamsterjill]

6. The 2 year old boxer isn't neutered?

n/t

[demtenjeep]

7. not yet. He has a couple of "dates" lined up

I think eventually we will neuter him, but his is such a beautiful brindle that he caught some breeder's eyes.

[TheCruces]

11. Is he a champion show dog?

Is he a champion in schutzhund, obedience, etc?

If no, then get him fixed. Any legit breeder wouldn't be interested in your dog. You are just contributing to backyard breeding idiocy. I'm sure you prefer getting some cash for studding him, but all you're doing is contributing to more dead dogs in shelters.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. This may be a dominance issue, but

although it seems that she is too young, he may sense something before you do. I would think that 4 months old is too young to go into heat, but I also think that 9 is too young for a human----and I would be wrong. If he has just started doing this, I would be concerned for her. I would keep them apart no matter how much it doesn't make sense at her age.

[TorchTheWitch]

9. her hormones are beginning to kick in and he can tell

Probably the best thing to do to ensure that an accident doesn't happen is to keep them separated until she's fixed next month. Until she's fixed there's no real way to be sure she isn't going to be fertile at some time in the next month even though she's not had symptoms of heat yet. You don't want to be finding out the hard way exactly when she is fertile by having an accidental pregnancy. At four month for both males and females the hormones are either starting to kick in or in some cases have already fully kicked in. Though dogs will mount each other to show dominance I'd bet that this is a matter of breeding desire rather than dominance given the circumstances. To be on the safe side, it's probably best to keep them separated until she gets spayed next month... breeding only takes a few moments and can happen the instant your back is turned.

There's also the alternative to have her wear those special female panty things in the male dog's presence so he can't breed with her, but I'm not sure if you'd rather do that than keep them separated. It won't keep him from trying, but he won't be able to successfully breed. Personally, I'd rather just keep them separated for the brief interval until she gets spayed rather than put panties on the female (there's something just so undignified to me about them), but that's your call. You know your dogs best and which choice would make them happiest and would be most convenient.

It seems pretty clear that you definitely don't want an accidental pregnancy while you wait for her spaying appt., so you have pretty much these two options to be certain it doesn't happen.... either keep them separated for the next month or go with the "no-no" panties.