deborahjross | Dog lust

This last week, we hosted Mika, a young German Shepherd dog (female, unspayed, in heat) belonging to a friend (who also has an intact male GSD). It was an experiment, since in the past, Oka (our neutered male GSD) has been reactive to other dogs. We had been gradually introducing the two dogs to one another, using the techniques we learned in the Difficult Dog Class, and had gotten them relaxed and happy to a threshold distance of about 20-30 feet. We'd also had Oka in a crate and Mika loose, sniffing each other.

Encouraged by the imminent desire to not produce puppies, we tried the crate introduction. Mika was frankly flirtatious, presenting her rear (actually shoving her bottom against the bars of the crate for Oka to sniff). Although he is neutered, it was at 4 years, so his brain has been thoroughly molded by testosterone. When we decided to trust that hormones would overcome past aggression, he knew what to do. He had to learn the social behaviors of courtship jousting, but Mika was an eager teacher. Sometimes, however, I'd look in on them (usually out on the fenced porch) and he'd be lying flat on his side, panting, and she'd be standing over him, nudging him, "Come on, big boy, let's do it again."

It was pretty clear when Mika went out of heat; she got rapidly less receptive and more aggressive. After a tussle or two, they settled down to being pals. This is extremely good for Oka, because he had clearly learned dog-politeness-signals. We hope to try walking them together in a few days to see if these skills carry over.