Intact male behaves as if spayed female is in heat?


  • 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!


  • 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.


    CL125


  • He might just be a horn-dog, too. :D


  • 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.


  • 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.


  • 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.


  • 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?


  • 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.


  • @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.


  • @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.


  • @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

Suggested Topics

  • Two Female Basenjis??

    Behavioral Issues
    22
    0 Votes
    22 Posts
    17k Views
    N
    @DebraDownSouth Good Grief Deb ~ I laughed so hard at this I almost choked!! "It's like having a doctor call it your "wee wee" but you are correct!! (still giggling here)! :-)
  • Female agression

    Behavioral Issues
    7
    0 Votes
    7 Posts
    6k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    Please spay your bitch now. While it may not help, it could and it absolutely can prevent an oops litter with her son. I agree totally, wait until he is older to neuter. Her age.. just now maturing. It isn't uncommon for them to become dog aggressive as they mature, and no, you can't stop it. The only safe method is control, keep safe, and accept that some things are simply the nature of the dog. More dogs have been killed/injured by people trying to make them get along with other dogs than anything. Dog management is the key. Absolutely thyroid testing, but don't expect that, even if she has issues, to cure the problem. Can you talk to the breeder to see how her bloodline and litter mates are?
  • 0 Votes
    7 Posts
    3k Views
    bellabasenjiB
    @Quercus: …I can't imagine a dog in a real fight taking the chance of turning his back on the attacker. Though, I am used to seeing girl, girl fights...where neither girl is willing to surrender...it could be that a dog who really doesn't want to fight will try to protect his head and neck by offering other 'parts'...it would definitely indicate that the other dog wasn't reading his signs correctly...either by the dog offering surrender, or running away...it isn't really appropriate for the attacking dog to continue attacking... This is probably what may have happened. I don't think anyone actually saw the fight… So it's hard to tell, but my friend now thinks it is a part of male dominance fighting! I told them I would ask on here and see if it is common or not...
  • Dominant Male against humans

    Behavioral Issues
    8
    0 Votes
    8 Posts
    3k Views
    F
    Thank you so much for your help! I was talking to my husband about Buster. He and I are working on some of the things that you all have suggested (i.e. not letting him on the bed, making him sit before doing anything). What is nice is that prior to this event, I always talked to Buster before doing anything, so we aren't changing everything in his routine.
  • Spayed Puppy Question

    Behavioral Issues
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    3k Views
    DukeD
    @Quercus: When females are spayed, it removes the estrogen production which in turn had masked the natural androgen (female testosterone) in her body. So, yes, I believe that spayed females will sometimes have some more masculine characteristics. But also some unspayed females will exhibit more masculine traits during "the season"….the other day Bella decided she would try to breed Luna @@ and Luna seemed happy to oblige. Hopefully Daisy will go back to her normal, less testosteroni, self in a few weeks..... Thanks for your replies Andrea and Pat. My curiosity in observing them is eye opening to say the least. I thought I'd seen it all with all the bickering and full out brawls when resolving together some time ago - in March. LOL with the Bella and Luna!! :D Silly girls . . . I can guess you've seen and observed more than the average parents of furkids. Thanks again - will wait and see how the "world" changes here. :D
  • Heats coming on!!

    Behavioral Issues
    20
    0 Votes
    20 Posts
    5k Views
    nomrbddgsN
    Perfect! I now know when I can get her done. Then I can work on the breeding for next year.