Bentley is different

Wonder if this is typical cavalier behavior. he is 7-1/2 mos old. Outside he sniffs everything and chews anything he finds, relentlessly. He will often make 90mph laps around the yard, come back to me, scratch his back legs, yip or a little bark and take off, wanting me to play.

In the house he nests any blanket or towel. If there is anything on his blanket he goes nuts to get it off, even a little crumb. He cannot stand anything on his coat in or on his ears. he rolls and rolls to dilute the odor. he uses a small stump outside like a table to set his chew toys on.

Of course he will chase anything that moves and goes nuts over bugs.

he was neutered about 3 weeks ago but will still hump your leg once in awhile which I immediately let him know this is unacceptable. He was raised first 6 mos. with a male breeding Cavalier (his father) so some of his behaviors were picked up in the kennel i am sure from watching his daddy. he is very suspicious about new things, almost distrustful. I think this is because he wasnt raises as a house dog. He watches your body language and gauges whether or not he feels its safe to proceed. After having him 5 wks he still is leary of hubby. he never lets me out of his sight but I am home all day and hubby works long hours so he doesnt spend the time I do.

he is so different from my poodle i assume some of these behaviors are instinctual and some are not.

Fletcher is very friendly however odd things spook him sometimes. My son, Mr. Monster has this toy dinosaur that has a little sensor on it so it jumps at you when you get close. It scared the mess outta him, even when it's turned off and somewhere he can see it. He is also freaked out when the dryer buzzes.

Fletcher also runs laps playing and will grab Mr. Monster by the clothes to knock him down when they are running together so he can stand on my kid and lick his face, it's play. Both kid and dog love this. As a matter of fact Fletcher chases anything that will run.

Funny you have a poodle too! He is 13 and been fixed since he was 6 months old and he is the family humper... for some reason every night after dinner the poodle finds the need to hump either Fletcher or Mr. Monster.

MomObvious said:

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Funny you have a poodle too! He is 13 and been fixed since he was 6 months old and he is the family humper... for some reason every night after dinner the poodle finds the need to hump either Fletcher or Mr. Monster.

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This after dinner hour of which you speak we fondly refer to as the puppy porn hour. It saddens me that some do not outgrow this.

I wonder if its not a dominant behavior ...alpha male...especially since it is after meals...(another pack thing)....my alpha dog is female...she doesnt hump, but after meals she tries to snap and growl at the other two when they are going outside...its the only time of day she does it...she wants to go out the door first...i usually make her sit and i go outside first just to settel her a bit ( im the boss...not her!) shes a schnaunzer...cant imagine a cavalier being alpha anything!!

I would hazard that he has not completely settled into his new home. It can take dogs several months, especially if the new environment and new routine is radically different from before. It would probably be good for your husband to do some training with him. It would help them bond and give Bentley a better sense of his place in the family structure. As far as the other quirks... They sound relatively harmless. I'd keep an eye on them and talk to your vet if they get extreme and borderline OCD.

Humping behaviour is absolutely normal dog behaviour, in puppies or adults, male or female. That's why I hope it wouldn't really sadden anyone too much that dogs don't outgrow it -- any more than it should sadden people that adult humans have relationships!

However, humping can definitely be annoying to people, and to other dogs, too -- even a bullying behavour -- so it is useful to discourage and manage it. It shouldn't be punished -- just redirect attention to some other activity, as suggested below, simply ask the dog to sit.

Neutered dogs do not necessarily stop humping, although it does help curb this in males.

See: http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/humping-normal-yet-rude-and-lewd

Regarding the other behaviour -- none of what Bentley does is too unusual, really -- he's still just a puppy and many of those behaviours (chewing everything, running around madly) are typical puppy behaviours of any breed/mix at that age. Some of them, he will likely outgrow as he matures.