Q: Why has my five-year-old male springer spaniel started humping everything? He humps quilts and other animals, but has never done it before.

Mandy Ferguson, Tyneside

A: Hypersexual behaviour is reasonably common. When it suddenly starts in a five-year-old animal, it is typical of an underlying disease process rather than a behavioural problem, particularly if the male dog has not been neutered. It is worth eliminating clinical disease before presuming the problem to be behavioural.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is a condition that affects over 80% of entire male dogs over the age of five. It basically means there is an enlargement of the prostate gland. Not all dogs will show clinical signs associated with this prostate enlargement, but those that do can range from hypersexual behaviour such as humping objects to blood in the urine, painful urination and changes to faeces.

It would be worth taking your dog to see your vet with a urine sample. They will be able to perform a clinical exam on your dog to assess whether or not the prostate is enlarged. Protein or blood in the urine may also point towards a clinical problem rather than behavioural.

There is also a specific blood test that can be done to assess the prostate. Abdominal ultrasound may also be recommended if prostate disease is suspected to rule out more serious prostatic diseases such as abscesses and tumours, but these are much rarer than BPH.

If BPH is confirmed, castration is often curative, but may take several weeks following surgery for the behaviour to subside. Alternatively there is a short tablet course that can reduce the size of the prostate for six months. What may have started as a clinical behaviour can become a learned behaviour that continues following treatment if left too long..


Rory Thomson is part of the team at St Clair Veterinary Care in Croft Road, Blyth. If you have a question, fill out the online form at chroniclelive.co.uk/askthevet

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