Male Dog Mating Drive in the Spring
Spring is a wonderful time of year, but it can pose challenges for male dogs and their dog parents. Not all four-legged guys are affected, but some are overwhelmed with spring fever and become extremely interested in the scent of females, developing harmful stress. Let's take a closer look at how to identify signs of unhealthy hormonal influence and relieve the stress.
Spring and the hormonal impact of male dogs
The reason this happens during spring is that it is a natural mating season for many animals. Hormones that regulate sexual drive increase during spring, and females go into heat one after the other. Since our male dogs rarely get to, or are allowed to, mate, this can lead to great frustration, stress, and sometimes even health risk Female Dog Heat Cycle – All You Need to Know!
How neutered males are affected by spring
This increased sexual drive is most common in unneutered males but can also affect neutered males since testosterone is still produced by other organs. They may want to pursue the scent of females intensely, trying to make contact. Their appetite, energy levels, and general behavior can be affected. If you want to know more about neutering, you can read Castrate the dog or not?
Common signs of hormonal stress in male dogs
- Increased interest in female scent: your dog sniffs for a long time, circles the scent/air with his mouth, drools, and licks at urine spots.
- Attempts to follow females: your dog tracks females that have left behind a scent, and this behavior can be hard to interrupt.
- Courting: your dog intensely courts females during interactions, arches his neck, positions himself sideways, smells the rear, and tries to mount.
- Decreased appetite and energy levels: your dog eats less or has stopped eating entirely and becomes low on energy, more tired than usual.
- Increased challenging behavior, especially towards other male dogs.
- Humping objects or people's legs.
- Digestive issues, such as diarrhea. This can lead to serious dehydration.
- Pacing back and forth at night.
- Sitting by the door whining.
- Pulling unusually hard during walks.
- Hair loss.
- Increased sensitivity to noise and reactivity.
If your male dog shows any of these symptoms, it could be an indication that he is suffering from stress due to hormonal influence caused by females in heat. If you want to know more about dog sex drive and behaviors, check out our article Dog sex drive - behaviors and solutions.
Ways to relieve hormonal stress
- One solution is to neuter the dog, either via a chip or surgically. However, it’s important to note that neutering carries some risks, and it’s crucial to carefully consider whether this is a suitable solution for your dog.
- Chaste tree berry is a supplement that can help balance hormones in dogs (both males and females), thereby alleviating hormone-induced stress.
- Providing your dog with plenty of exercise and stimulation can also help manage hormonal imbalances and stress. Regular exercise and mental stimulation can help your dog burn off excess energy and promote relaxation and well-being.
- Avoid areas that may strongly smell of females, and skip socializing with females, whether they're in heat or not. Walking in dog-free areas can also reduce your male dog’s exposure to female scent.
- Try to locate the females in your neighborhood. Contact their owners and ask where the female is in her heat cycle. You can ask them to bathe their female after the heat (this reduces the scent) and maybe give them a bottle of spray designed to neutralize the heat scent. It can be helpful to explain how your male dog is affected when asking for their cooperation.
As a male dog owner, it is important to take your dog’s stress symptoms caused by increased sexual drive seriously and take appropriate action to relieve the situation. If the stress persists despite efforts, it’s wise to seek veterinary help to prevent serious stress in your dog.
We hope this article has helped you identify signs of hormonal imbalance and relieve stress for your male dog when spring fever hits the hardest.
Written by: Caroline Alupo
Caroline Alupo is Petli's co-founder. She has a master's degree in ethology and is also a trained dog trainer and dog psychologist. She has 19 years of experience as a professional dog trainer. Read more about Caroline here.
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