I feel so sorry for Ben, he picks up a scent in a field down my lane and becomes obsessed with it, he then follows the scent for about 1/2 mile down the lane and onto a road where a Deerhound Breeder lives with 3 females. He leads me to their house where he becomes very intense on smelling the grass outside. We walk past to the next house where he stops, thinks and then turns and heads back from where we came. He doesn't know there are female hounds living at the house and just follows a scent, obviously one is on heat at present.

He's acting very strange at home and smells the wind a lot, presumably picking up the females scents in the air as the breeder exercises her dogs close to our house, but out of sight. He's also off his food and won't eat a thing.

Somebody suggested having him neutered but I worry about the operation and anaesthetic. He's not won any shows so breeders aren't interested in him as a stud. Luckily this only happens once or twice a year but it does make me very sad seeing him lovesick and unfulfilled.

Don't worry. It's normal behaviour and he'll get over it. Why would you want to have him castrated?

I don't want him castrated but that is what a lot of dog people are telling me that I should do. They also tell me that a dog that wants to mate with a female and can't, runs a high risk of developing genital cancer.

Personally I'd be very unhappy subjecting him to an operation.

Poor Ben ! Mac goes through the same thing every time the collie comes into heat.
I wouldn't consider castration unless aggression was a problem, but there isn't much you can do to reduce his distress unfortunately. Just nature doing it's thing !

Hope he's back to normal soon. Bring him up here for a walk round the reservoir.A day out with the lads might help him get his mind off the ladies!

Murphy doesn't - perhaps he is gay!

Poor Ben, but just because he hasn't won or been to any shows doesn't preclude him from being
used as a stud dog Robb. The law of averages says that there must be some really good dogs
out there that are in pet homes. Not every nicely constructed, correct deerhound male ends
up in the show ring.

Tell Benn to think of our poor Ruag:( . We have 5 bitches here who all come into season at
different times. I have to say though that Ruag is no bother and very seldom whines or moans.
He just takes it all in his stride.

Lurch, if Murphy was gay then I'd think he's exhibit the same sort of behavior towards male dogs, maybe he's not highly sexed. I hear that lots of Deerhounds are not very interested in females and don't seem to have a clue of what they sould do. I wish that Ben was like that but he's not, he always seems to get obsessed with the scent of a female dog in season. Maybe with Ben its inherited from his father who was an excellent stud.

Sally, is Ruag the dog of yours that is also an offspring of Rosslyn Highlander?

CiCoch wrote:


Sounds like a great idea Steve. I can make any weekend, sat or sun, although a saturday may be quieter than sunday.

At the risk of sounding totally naive... Storm (15 months old) does this thing of sniffing and trying to lick a certain bit of grass on a walk and if I pull him away his jaw starts trembling and his teeth chattering! Is this a reaction to the scent of a bitch (in general or in season?) - he's hardly exhibited any "unwanted" behaviour in the house - I'm now worried that, now I've said that, he'll spend all next Saturday at Newbury being "too" interested in any female DH's! Apologies in advance anyone attending next week!

It's normal male dog behaviour and nothing to worry about. think of him as being at the spotty teenager stage; wearing a baseball cap with his hoodie pulled up. He'll get over it in due course.

Sid wrote:


Only thing is Sid that Ben is 4yrs 6months so is hardly a spotty teenager, more like the mid-life crisis with him I guess.

Mack does that chattering thing. He is always trying to mount Daisy and she has never been in heat. He is definitely up for it!!

Murphy does it too! so maybe he isn't gay!!!

He finds where a bitch has wee'd and does the Hanibal Lecter thing with his jaw dribbling!!

Blue does that if he smells bird droppings you think you have problems!!!!!

farnorth wrote:


Bird droppings !!!! haha Jeez you have one wierd dog !

Wait until you get the air humping and the mopes. Its a little pathetic, but thankfully it only lasts a couple of weeks.

You should be thankful that he doesn't howl. We have very restless nights here when Bree is in heat.

Hi we get that as well every time he tries to scrape earth to cover over his dog dirt away he goes.He is definately wierd but fits in well with our house not that we sniff bird droppings !!!!!

When our previous hounds were kennelled, one would start howling and the others would follow suit, it was comical. They never howled when the bitch was in season and she slept in an adjoining kennel?

Hi i hope the two dogs dont do that when brodie comes in season as they all live in the house i think i had better get some ear plugs

Robb wrote:


How about Saturday 21st ? There's sled dog racing there this weekend. I'll be taking Mac to spectate , he has a certain fondness for Alaskan Malamutes.


Anyone else is quite welcome also!