Their "thingy" will come out when they want to clean themselves, or sometimes even when they are relaxed. It is not always a sign of arousal. Some are also more shy than others....LOL. IMHO, male dogs can be taught manners in this department if it bothers you. All you have to do is simply distract them, make them get up and move, or simply say somehting to them when they do this like "put it away," and they will learn to do their cleaning business when you are not around or not in front of you. I don't particularly like my girls doing their "excessive" cleaning (quick is ok, I'm talking about when it takes them a long time) in front of me and this is what I do. They quickly learn to do it at a different time. As far as marking. I have no good answers. The best dog I ever had was a male, and he did mark. I think it depends on so many factors that everyone has already said. I think the people before me in my house had dogs, and I was dealing with their scent too.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

I recomend my puppy owners to neuter between 5 and 6 months old. I never had anyone report a problem. I had people being too "relaxed" about potty training ... human faults... as soon they got back on track on the training schedules and routines, all resolved ! I only see the "red rocket" on my males when they are humping to breed, remember, i am a breeder and all my boys are not fixed at all . The Upbringing will make the difference !
XOXO

I have had boys in the past. It comes out and all the way! Fixed or not. I loved my dogs but I will never have a boy again. It bothered me too much and also they can pee almost in motion it is very sloppy sometimes and gets all over their legs. Lots of people seem to have great experiences with boys. I just enjoy having a girl so much more now.

I honestly have never seen one out all the way. When they are breeding there is nothing to see, and I have ever had a male that humped objects.

But if I did, I would discourage that behavior.

It is an adjustment at first, when you've had only a baby girl for so long. When we got Rocco at 12 weeks he was humping like crazy but he hardly does it now. And I saw his "red rocket" lol only once-and it was just because he was excited (not 'that' kind of excited; the more innocent one lol) from playtime. Like the others have said, there are ways to discourage that behavior and also neutering at a young age helps. After neutering my other boy Teddy as a puppy he would still hump every once in awhile but his 'thing' never came out. He's completely grown out of the whole humping thing now.


Good luck, I just know you will have so much fun with two! I love having a little boy and little girl, I feel like i have the best of both worlds!

Smokey started lifting his leg at 14 weeks!!!...........so he wears belly bands 24/7.................and as for the ""thingy""...............Smokey had a problem with his still being all the way out after breeding...........a couple of times it was out for almost 2 hours............and i mean all the way out............so each dog is definitely different...........nuetering does not stop all lifting..........just slows it down..........those that dont lift..........well their owners just got lucky............it is in the male nature to lift............that is what my vet told me.................Smokey will lift his leg on anything.

Oh, that reminds me. Like Tnyorkiemom said above me, all dogs are different. Teddy never lifted his leg and still squats to this day. Rocco squats as well and he is nearly 16 wks. *knock on wood* ;)

good luck again, and i know there is never a guarantee, but sometimes it is worth the risk.

Maybe I have the exception, but Kaji was neutered after the recommended period, which I think is 6 months. Doesn't mark and he doesn't hump. I do see Mr Peepers ;) more often than I would care for, but it really isn't that big of an issue. It's out when he's supper excited, but it's quickly gone, and he's back to being my cuddly little boy who's ready to play.

And I agree 100% with JeanieK, boys are fantastic cuddlers! At least my boy is!:p He's never far from my side and always welcomes me home enthusiastically. I love coming home to someone that is always happy to see me.

I think the most important thing to remember about boys, is that you will fall totally in love with them, and if they do things you think are gross, you'll probably also find them adorable, because they are your dog.

As has been mentioned, a boy and a girl are more likely to get along than two girls. Make sure you s/n them both at an early age.

My guy Thor never humps. If another dog tries to hump him, he just stands there and takes it until I shoo the other dog off. He does looooooooove to mark, but he does not mark in my home, and honestly, it is really cute when he does it outside (again, might be because he's my dog. ;)). He's so little, and he liiiiifts his leg as high as he possibly can, often at more than a 180 degree angle with the other one. It does look to me like he's trying to get his mark up high, but sadly for him, it's the difference between 2" off the ground, and 2.000001.

I do have to explicitly teach him not to mark in new places. He comes to work with me, and when we moved offices, he started marking there for a bit. As other people have mentioned, you can get a belly band for when you bring your dog to visit other people's homes, etc.

Remember that a lot of girls also hump, and some girls mark.

I started a thread about how Thor's Thorminator has been making regular appearances, but it's not common for him. I think for most male dogs, they may get a small erection when they are excited or anxious, but it's not a full-on sexual thang, and tends to subside pretty quickly. Usually if it's out for a long time, it means something is wrong.


Oh, okay, I'm going to be honest about the one big downside of male yorkies - not nearly as many cute clothes. Seriously, if I could change one thing, that would be it.

YES!! As weird as that sounds I think it's so cute when Kaji tries to rub his scent on the couch. Or, when he pees the does the "leg extension" too! He once almost tipped over and I couldn't stop laughing. Surprisingly, he was completely clean after all that. :p

I do this also as a preventative measure. I haven't seen him actually try to mark, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. It's not that big of an inconvenience anyway.

Just the tip and only when he hasn't seen us in awhile. Never when he cleans himself or any other time.

I have owned two male dogs.
My last one was neutered young (about 5 1/2 mths) He was a leg lifter right from the start. I worked deligently with his potty training and he would go months and never mark anything..then if we had company, or my husband would go to the store and not take him, or whatever was going on that he found disagreeable he would lift his leg on something. He was a very dominate aggressive dog ( a minpin ) and I finall gave up and belly banded him while he was in the house. As far as seeing his "lipstick" we only saw it maybe two or three times when he was cleaning himself.
He was also a momma's boy and very, very affectionate and loving and funny and sweet.

JoJo was a big-time humper as a young puppy, but he stopped at around a few months old and no longer humps. He is neutered and is now 1 1/2 years old, and I'm glad to say that I've never seen his "red rocket". I love him to pieces, but that is one part of him I don't want to see! :p

Hot Rod was neutered at 6 1/2 mo and does not lift his leg in the house but does so outside. He squats when he uses the pads.

I have only seen his thingy out once and it did not get stuck.

I had heard that boys were more cuddly and I can say that he definitely is!

I know what you mean! I think Thor even looks cute pooping, but yeah, eeeeew.

The funny thing is I volunteer at a shelter that staffs a bunch of excellent dog trainers, most of whom are female. I remember they were leashing up one particularly rambunctious puppy for a walk, and I guess the prospect of a walk with three beloved humans was very exciting for him. He flipped over on his back, and there it was, in all its glory. All three of these seasoned, professional women went EEEEWWW, put that thing away! :p