[anointed1]

I have a mini daschund female, she's 9 weeks old and she humps on my house shoe( a tiger). I think it's too soon for her to be going into heat! When does these dogs go into heat ( 4 months, 6 months, 8mths?) and how will I know that it's about to happen or happening? Then What do I do? This is my first dog and I need a little help. Thanks! :confused:

[labman]

That is fairly normal behavior at that age. Don't worry about it, she may be more telling the slipper she outranks it than anything else. They normally don't come into heat until the second half of their first year. The best thing for all but serious breeders to to have the dog spayed at 6 months. If you have an 08 calendar already, mark it. Failing spay your dog leads to all sorts of problems, the mess, flaky behavior, desperate attempts to get loose, etc. Once loose, in addition to getting bred and having an unwanted litter, she can be infected or injured, or get killed on the road. Get her spayed in the spring.

With a new puppy and being new to dogs, read the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251802

[RubyPitbull]

I agree with labman. Right now, she is asserting her dominance toward the "tiger"slippers. I am not sure if they are directed at the slippers because when you pick them up, hold them, put them on your feet, and walk with them, she thinks she is having to vie for your attention with "tiger", or she is humping something that has your smell on it that she can easily access. Remember she is a tiny thing, so humping you is a bit difficult. Unspayed pets have a tendency to be more aggressive in whatever they have focused their attention on. And, as labman points out, they can be a handful when they are in heat. In any event, if you aren't an experienced breeder, it would be a good idea to spay her and see if this helps diminish or extinguish the humping. The other thing you should think about is how much control you are allowing her in your relationship. It is important that you make sure you are the pack leader. Labman has some info on how to reinforce your leadership role. Hopefully he will post it all for you when he sees my response here.

[labman]

Yes RubyPitbull, I was focusing on the humping and heat cycle. I settled for urging spaying the dog rather than the signs of coming into heat. Spayed at 6 months, there won't be any coming into heat.

I list obedience training in my sticky, but say nothing about leadership. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss

Many people make the mistake of not obedience training cute little dogs because they are cute little dogs. Wrong! Many a household is ruled by a 10 pound dog. One lady I know in the dog guide program, hired a private trainer to cope with her Pug.