The
Sex Life of Our Pets
By Colin Tennant CFBA
Previously
published in PPM and Mad about dogs
Magazines
Pets and sex is not a subject most people like to dwell on, the
idea of their beloved pet enjoying sex produces a cross between
an uncomfortable feeling or outright embarrassment. It does not
fit in with the pet image, safe, friendly, loyal fluffy and cute.
Sex has other connotations and unwelcome ones at that.
The
nearest we get to discussing the sex lives of our pets is through
dog jokes. Pursuing bitches relentlessly around the neighbourhood,
cocking legs and sniffing the back end of bitches to poking their
wet noses in the crotches of red faced guests.
I
personally find the whole dog sex drive fascinating and funny
- well funny at the reactions of dog owners. When a client is
sat in my consulting room and in full verbal flow about their
dogs present outrageous behaviour, ie destroying valuables about
the home, the dog only has to roll on its side with a projecting
penis which it slowly licks, that one action generally stops the
consultation dead. If we both ignore it - owner can nervously
proceed, if I however smile as I often cant resist, (at their
dogs interjection) then the owner will normally try and nudge
the dog out of its intentions or interrupt the performance in
some other way. It never enters their mind that the dog is actually
cleaning its sexual apparatus the same way the client does only
dogs do it in public not in the shower or bath. It is animals
unabashed openness that many pet owners find difficult to deal
with.
The Fido Libido
Very
few dogs are actually hyper sexual. Some puppies display sexual
behaviour such as mounting cushions or people's legs. This is
a part of their adolescence and the puppy is merely seeking relief
for the desires caused by innate surging hormones that it is experiencing
whilst growing up. Nearly all puppies grow out of this. However,
some dogs of both sexes may continue this behaviour into adulthood.
It is not just male dogs either, thrusting by females is not that
unusual, but on the whole this is a harmless behaviour easily
discouraged. Bitches basically come into oestrus twice yearly
and an anomaly of domestication - their wild cousins the wolf
experience oestrus once per year. Dogs, like the males of most
species are always trigger happy when sex is on offer.
My
mum who is 81 years old was watching Inspector Morse on TV the
other night when Saphie my well written about Cairn decided to
roger the fluffy teddy bear and right in front of my mum's line
of vision. Saphie carried on merrily thrusting the teddy - Just
short bursts and then she shakes the life out of it like prey.
She's a rough lover and the whole action is innocent, maybe amusing,
but most of all it caused embarrassment, especially, when Morse
was about to solve his case. My mum was tutting under her breath
and asked me to put the Teddy out of harm's way and more mutterings
and disapproval of Saphie's Teddy bear adventures. Mum was not
pleased, someone of her age group is not so understanding about
the sex life of pets. Attitude is an important factor with dog
sex.
Males are the sex which obviously practice sexual mounting the
most and can on rare occasions develop the habit to an unacceptable
level or transpose the behaviour onto young children or adults
who have not managed to stop the dog performing. This is when
some dangers need to be taken account of which I will allude to
later.
Many
a client has telephoned me and using euphemistic language tried
to describe their dogs sexual antics with the neighbours kids,
the cushions, grannies leg or the obvious pursuing every dog walkers
bitch around the park eventually causing serious altercations.
Most owners don't like their bitches being rogered in the park
and that I understand. Control is the key through obedience training.
Of course humans practice courtship in the park and on a sunny
day the boys will be chatting up the girls, even if they are rejected
some carry on trying. Now dogs may not have the subtleties of
people, but they are more or less chatting up the bitches in a
more direct manner and often getting the same message from the
pursued. Some dogs just don=t take no for an answer.
When
women come into menstruation that will sometimes stimulate a reaction
in certain male dogs and this can be another area of embarrassment,
but it is simply the curiosity of dogs which is driven by their
olfactory interest in all around them, remember scent is their
life. One client I had last year became frightened of her male
German Shepherd Dog who became vocally aggressive each month.
This was a dominance drive behaviour and a over close relationship.
Though the whole matter was solved it is a more extreme example.
The
bottom line is, that if you don't like pets occasionally behaving
like their species then don't buy one. If animals demanded that
humans didn't have an interest in sex we would find that difficult
to deal with so try and understand the species behaviour before
getting all worked up. Most pet sexual activity is harmless and
often is easily redirected or ignored.
Children
I
don't allow dogs to have sexual encounters with children irrelevant
of the dogs natural innocence and the child's response, which
is normally one of finding the attention amusing. Most of the
sexual mounting of young children can be discouraged in a non
confrontational manner or a way that does not upset the children
and dog relationship. In more serious cases a concerned dog owner
should seek the help of a CFBA practitioner at www.cfba.co.uk.
You will get an E mail reply with the relevant details.
Marking
Territory
Another
unpleasant habit is when dogs, especially males cock their leg
on furniture in your or other people=s homes -even on some people's
legs. Though this not necessarily hyper sexual, it can be discouraged
using some of the methods outlined below. Dogs use scent in urine
as we leave a business card for another to read. It is an instinctive
behaviour and not related to cleanliness or our sensibilities.
Cats
Cats on the other hand perform their amorous, but noisy encounters
in the night and rarely in sight. Only the tom licking his wounds
is the indictment of some fight over territory or a female in
oestrous. Cats are or appear more subtle lovers than dogs, though
the barbs on the males penis which scrape the females sex organs
upon intercourse account for some of those blood curdling screams
during the night, but that=s the way of the cat and they truly
are the sexual masochists of the pet world. Perhaps that why dogs
come into more criticism because they flaunt their wares unashamedly
in our lounge or a public park not as a moving shadow in the night.
Should
I Neuter My Dog?
Male
dogs, like the males of most animal species, are driven by their
instincts and hormones to reproduce with any female found to be
in heat (oestrus) and in their vicinity. For some reason it's
comparatively uncommon for owners to neuter male dogs as opposed
to spaying bitches. This in my view is definitely a man attitude,
most women are keen to neuter a dog that I have made this recommendation
about, but husbands and boyfriends seem most reluctant, its as
if your neutering them metaphorically.
I
feel that providing the male dog is not developing some of the
problems associated with an entire male (with testicles) then
it is a personal decision. There is an argument that states that
if all non-breeding male dogs were castrated then the amount of
dominant aggression exerted by dogs to people and other dogs would
reduce considerably. This is probably so, though much of the aggression
of this type could be equally prevented by educating the owners
more thoroughly on how to socialise young male puppies at the
sensitive periods before puberty.
Is
some pet sex more acceptable
People
certainly make assumptions and arbitrary decisions on what type
of sex they will or wont tolerate. For example the smaller the
species or the less we are aware of its sexual activity the more
tolerant we are, fish mating in a tank excites most observers
and hobbyists and is rarely seen as disgusting. Butterflies mating
is another exciting and often described as beautiful sight by
many people. An Elephant with a huge penis dangling near the zoo
fence produces a mixture of embarrassments and mirth depending
on who=s present. Yes sex and pets produces a curious array of
views.
So
now lets go back to our dogs. Having personally supervised the
mating of many dogs and bitches, I can honestly say that the dogs
appear to be as unashamed about their immediate actions and completely
unfazed by humans' sensibilities. I believe that animals trigger
our cultural learnt inhibitions and one culture will react differently
than another about the sexual lives of dogs or other pets.
Some
methods to prevent or interrupt sexual activity.
Water
pistols
Use
a water pistol or a washing up liquid bottle filled with water.
Whenever you see your dog masturbating on a cushion etc, squirt
a jet of water at it and command 'No'. Eventually the command
'No' should suffice to make your dog stop. You're not actually
trying to teach your dog that masturbating a cushion is bad, more
that 'No' means 'stop doing that action or the dog may associate
that its own action or position brings an unpleasant experience.
Redirect
the behaviour
If
your dog loves playing with a favourite ball or toy then teach
him to fetch it. Reward your dog with praise each time he brings
the ball back and repeat the exercise two or three times daily,
though be careful not to go on until your dog gets bored.
When
the ball's appearance or your commanding 'fetch' produces an immediate
response from your dog then his training has progressed sufficiently
to be of use as a distraction to over sexed dogs. Now if you see
your dog about to mount somebody or something, speak its name
excitedly and throw the ball. In this way we divert the dog's
mind to the ball game and away from the sexual thought.
Using
a scent or taste deterrent like lemon or citronella spray the
body parts that your dog is attracted to. This is especially true
of small children who have difficulty controlling the dog with
their voice. The dog receives a natural distraction or dissuasive
experience as a result of its own interaction. If for example
it's a cushion or a child's leg then by spraying these three times
daily for about a week, the dog consistently is deterred. Often
this brings splendid results.
Dog
training
Last,
but not least, have your dog obedience trained. When your dog
has been trained to a sufficiently high standard you can use the
sitting, down and stay commands to divert your dog's attention.
When he goes to mount something, give the command. Then reward
him when he obeys the command and forgets the sex action.
In
Conclusion
If
the dog is only object sexually stimulated like mounting cushions
simply by leaving the room each time the behaviour occurs, can
result in a cessation of the behaviour. There is ample evidence
to suggest that some dogs use masturbating on a cushion as a means
of actively seeking attention. In fact with these dogs, even saying
'No' or squirting the water pistol can be construed as a form
of attention. So use your methods with this in mind and the ones
that work with your particular dog.
Neutering
is not a panacea for all male bad habits and is often carried
out unnecessarily in the hope it will have an effect rather than
because of a rational assessment of the behavioural problem beforehand.
Some
Main Points Associated with Neutering a Male Dog
Some
breeders request you don't neuter their sold progeny, but this
is not a good reason to prevent neutering your dog. That is the
breeders' self interest.
Reduces
sexual activity considerably
Dogs
are prone to put weight on if their diet isn't carefully watched.
They
are less likely to roam for sexual or territorial encounters.
Urinate
less often (mark territory).
Has
a calming effect on its general behaviour.
