Intact male behaves as if spayed female is in heat?

[Woofless]

Just curious if any of you have ever seen this before?

I have JUST brought home (today!) an intact male to foster….he is being neutered tomorrow.

My 3 dogs (two females, one male) are all spayed/neutered.

The intact foster boy is behaving exactly as if my 50 lb mix-breed female is in heat. I am confident this is NOT "dominance humping" or play on his part- have seen plenty of play/dominance mounting and have also seen enough deliberate matings (I work for a hunting dog breeder/trainer) to see the difference.

He is following her around, sniffing her vulva, drooling a little, clacking his teeth, initiating play, and mounting her. Repeatedly, and with determination. A couple of times he has gone as far as to have his penis out of its sheath and "stuck" that way until the swelling goes down.

She isn't standing for him (and he isn't getting anywhere)....but she is tolerating his attentions with a playful attitude. She isn't a lot taller than a Basenji but she is stocky and long-bodied...she outweighs him by a good 30 lbs, and is mostly just flinging him around while he clings to her for dear life, or she wrestles him to the ground. If nothing else, they've just about worn each other out & will sleep good tonight! LOL

He seems mildly interested in my Basenji female....will sniff her and clack teeth, but shows no interest in mounting her. It's just the big furry girl he likes. LOL. She isn't swollen, has no discharge- I know without a doubt she is spayed....I can't make heads or tails of his behavior??

So I'm wondering if any of you breeders or rescue folks have ever seen this? Is it possible for a spayed female to still give off some sort of hormone to make a male think she is in estrus? Maybe just a weird behavior quirk of this boy?

Either way, the neuter is coming just in time....LOL. Not an issue I can't handle, I am just curious about it!

[sinbaje]

Some females with outright or even low grade urinary tract infections can emit an odor that to an inexeperienced male mimics being in heat. Even if there is no overt infection a female with an anatomy (or haircoat) that harbor bacteria or yeast can also emit this similar odor. So while a spayed bitch (assuming no remnants of her ovaries or uterus were left in during the spay) will not be emiting true sexual attracting hormones, she can be emiting mimicing smells and tastes.

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CL125

[AJs Human]

He might just be a horn-dog, too.

[Woofless]

Interesting, Linda- he was also sniffing her urine outside in the snow and clacking his teeth. She isn't showing any signs of a UTI but I may just bring her in to be checked anyhow.

Could be her anatomy, too….she does have a dense coat and her vulva seems to be small and a bit "tucked up" into her body. Would "wiping" her occasionally with a wet wipe help? Apple cider vinegar?

And AJ- LOL....yeah, you could be right! He tried to go after my leg a couple times when Chloe kept frustrating him. LOL.

[nomrbddgs]

Personally, I think Basenji's have a 'thing' for fluffy dogs. My male loves my female Heeler x Am Esk-and even more so when she has a full coat. I don't keep her in coat anymore as she is too old, but, yup he loved her with a passion with that full coat.

[renaultf1]

Two thoughts.

Has your girl been anywhere where she could have played with another bitch that was in heat? The reason I ask is I went away to a show one time with my pup and nearly every girl around her was in heat. She played with a couple of them after the show. Well when I brought her home, Brando (intact) was right after her - wouldn't take no for an answer (from me or her). I scooped her up, gave her a bath, and then presto, no more mounting "activity" (still some sniffing) from Brando. It was kind of funny because he was going around the room after acting like, "what just happened - where'd my date go?" :D:D:D

The other thing is maybe there is a bitch in heat near your house. I can instantly tell when there is in my neighborhood (a guy down the street owns a pack of beagles that I know are intact) - Brando does sniff/lick the pee (of both my girls) and click his teeth, even though one of my girls is spayed and the other isn't in heat. And every year he tries to mount Ruby (spayed) during that time.

[Woofless]

Arlene, too funny!! Jibini used to have a "thing" for yellow Labs. I boarded him at a place in Vegas once called the "Doggy Oasis" (long time B-List members might remember viewing the live camera feed on the 'net). He was so deeply in "love" with a yellow Lab, that they had to seperate the two. And it seemed every time we went to the dog park, he'd pick a yellow lab to "romance".

Renault- that is interesting…Chloe hasn't been anywhere with other dogs lately though. My landlord does have 3 intact female Labs, but he lives 2 miles away. I'm way out in the country- he's my nearest neighbor and my neighbor on the other side is 3 miles away- but he DOES have a kennel of hunting dogs (he's the guy I work for). I am fairly sure nobody's in heat there- we do a check once a week- otherwise I'd bet it could be MY clothes/shoes that could be setting him off. But my landlord's dogs could be in heat, I'm not sure. Can 'heat' scent travel that far?

[renaultf1]

Woofless, the beagle pack on my street is about 2 miles down the road from where I am. I've always been told they can smell the scent for miles.

[Elscodobermann]

@sinbaje:

Some females with outright or even low grade urinary tract infections can emit an odor that to an inexeperienced male mimics being in heat. Even if there is no overt infection a female with an anatomy (or haircoat) that harbor bacteria or yeast can also emit this similar odor. So while a spayed bitch (assuming no remnants of her ovaries or uterus were left in during the spay) will not be emiting true sexual attracting hormones, she can be emiting mimicing smells and tastes.

I agree this could be a definate possibility. 2 weeks ago my male dobermann was getting VERY interested in my youngest dobe bitch (both her and her urine)- who i knew was nowhere near her season - then noticed a discharge - quick visit to vets and she was taken straight away for an emergency spay - due to pyometra. If i were you i would get her checked out just incase, you cant mess around with things like that.

[renaultf1]

@Elscodobermann:

I agree this could be a definate possibility. 2 weeks ago my male dobermann was getting VERY interested in my youngest dobe bitch (both her and her urine)- who i knew was nowhere near her season - then noticed a discharge - quick visit to vets and she was taken straight away for an emergency spay - due to pyometra. If i were you i would get her checked out just incase, you cant mess around with things like that.

+2 - I agree that you should first rule out anything medically.

[thunderbird8588]

@renaultf1:

I scooped her up, gave her a bath, and then presto, no more mounting "activity" (still some sniffing) from Brando. It was kind of funny because he was going around the room after acting like, "what just happened - where'd my date go?" :D:D:D

Thats too funny :D:D:D