Do very young male dogs also lift their legs in this way?
Posted by Dog Supplies Advice in Dog Supplies Q&A, Dog Supplies Tips, tags: Dog Advice, dog care, dog Q&A, dog supplies, dog supplies advice, Young Male DogDo very young male dogs also lift their legs in this way?
No, males do not begin to show this typical leg-raising behavior until near the age of puberty; in fact it usually begins between five and eight months old. Between five to seven weeks of age and puberty male dogs adopt a posture in which they stand with all four legs on the ground and with their hind limbs slightly extended backwards – giving the impression of leaning forwards. This posture is not the same, however, as the squatting position adopted by bitches when urinating.
The changeover from one urination posture to the other around the time of puberty is undoubtedly due to the influence of male sex hormone (testosterone). But the change appears not to be due to any hormone actually produced at puberty, and in fact all the evidence indicates that it is a delayed effect of that testosterone which is produced by the developing puppy before it has even been born. Consequently dogs castrated before puberty still develop the typical leg-lifting behavior at the usual age (around five months old). Also, dogs castrated after puberty continue to leg-lift. Furthermore, the administration of either testosterone or the female sex hormone (oestrogen) to male dogs produces no change in the position they adopt to urinate, regardless of whether they are entire (uncastrated) or castrated, either before or after puberty. (The only obvious effect that giving these hormones produces is to increase the frequency of urination.) On the other hand dogs that have both their testicles undescended, plus a poorly developed penis and low libido (features which suggest minimal testosterone production at all times, even as a foetus) never adopt the adult male posture.
Grossly obese male dogs and males suffering from severe cystitis tend to adopt the juvenile posture of urinating, or even to squat, rather than leg-lift. In the former instance this is because of physical difficulty and in the latter because of the pain and discomfort which it produces.
Throughout their life bitches usually squat to pass urine, although it is quite normal for one hind limb to be slightly lifted between one and six inches (2.5 – 15 cm) off the ground, and even for the normal raised leg posture of the male to be adopted on up to 10% of occasions. Leg-lifting is more likely to occur around the time of heat, and certainly at that time bitches are more interested in investigating urine scents and in leaving their own marks. Interestingly, if bitches are given testosterone early in their development, either before birth (i.e. when it is given to their mothers) or soon afterwards, they will adopt the typical male posture for urinating almost every time. However, testosterone given to bitches later in life produces no change in the normal urination posture. These observations support the view that the development of the male pattern of behavior depends upon the presence of male sex hormone at a very early age.
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