This bitch was raised here
recently she been displaying very bizarre actions. dry humping anything that will stand or lay still, ear sucking on every dog to the point of causing sores.

It has gotten bad enough I have to keep her separated because she harasses my older dogs beyond belief.


She had a litter about a year ago
was in heat about 3 months ago
Is not in heat now
does not have a discharge in any form
is not running a temperature
is very healthy, eats well, stools look normal.
She is not stressed in any way
nothing obvious in her life has changed.

I have tried correct this behavior and she will listen while I am watching but as soon as I turn my back she is right back at this 24/7

There has got to be something hormonal going on???
any suggestions would be appreciated.
hate to keep her locked up but at this point for the sanity of my labs that is what I have to do

It does sound like a form of stress, although you say she isn't stressed.

Has anyone changed their schedule or gone out of her life recently, or have you lost or added a dog from/to the pack?

I would be checking hormones, especially thyroid. I don't think it's stress - sounds like there is some kind of chemical imbalance going on in her system.

False pregnancy?

My girls get "Bitchy" 2-3 months before their heat if they didn't have puppies from the previous heat cycle.
I think it is 100% hormonal and it goes away by itself once the body starts preparing to come in season again.
I've seen an increase on confrontations, humping, rough play, excessive grooming, etc.

I would first try alot more excercise. I mean alot. If you see no improvement, then this girl needs a complete blood panel. Clearly this is either stress or hormones, it is not normal. Stress within the pack that you may not be seeing, or her hormones have her in a tail spin. Seperating her is NOT the anwser, will only cause her additional stress, next she will start self mutilating. [licking paws, chewing on her self, or destroying her crate, her fuzzy, her toys etc.]

she gets plenty of exercise as we live on a large piece of property and all of us go running every night. Well they run I ride the golf cart. During the day they are either in the house with me or out in the yard playing.

She is only locked up when I am not home and it is not isolated as she can see everyone else, but I cant stress the other dogs out by the OCD behavior.

Blood drawn showed nothing out of the ordinary..sigh...

Spay her.

What's your pack order like? Has it changed? Do you have a much older dog who, perhaps, is failing?

Dogs will try to move into top position when the older, presumably alpha, dog starts to weaken.

Does alone time once a day work with her? Maybe a ride in the car or the golf cart without everyone else? Something's got her breeches in a twist??

Good luck!!

Maybe she's just bored? Can you get her into an obed class or out to the field, and give her a job where she has to think? Physical exercise only goes so far w/ some dogs.

this may sound odd, but try an animal communicator- we have had really good success with them! Be happy to give you their information if contact me privately

Because the owner stated blood work was normal. THIS IS NOT NORMAL TEMPERAMENT. Any temperament in this Breed that is not stellar , should be spay !

just because a blood panel came back normal does not mean its not a hormonal issue or a deficiency.

It would be different if she was acting aggressively towards other dogs, shes just being passively annoying.I know a lot of labs that are bizarre in their own ways.

I can at least tell you how I stopped ear sucking at my house. Get a tube of Bandguard. http://shop.corneranimal.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=10701

Put a tiny dab on your finger. Put half a dab on the inside of the tip of each of the other dogs' ears. Once the habit is broken, you can clean off the ears.

no.... I am not spaying her, she has been a "stellar" dog in every other way except for this past two weeks.It is not a temperament issue, this I am positive of.

The ear sucking has stopped today, will see if the annoyance does too.

Wonder if she is cycling earlier than expected? guess I will know soon enough.

To my mind, these behaviors sound hormonal and not all that unusual.
As another poster suggested, the timing may have to do with a false pregnancy, or how she is responding to the drop in circulating progesterone, which happens whether the bitch is pregnant or not.
Hormones are very powerful in the body and their effect on the individual bitch is very variable. She is a young bitch and is chosing these behaviors as a way of interpreting her body's progesterone levels. Some bitches (I had a rescue do this) will grab all the toys in the house, create a nest, and curl up for hours with her "babies" as a response to the fluctuation in progesterone levels, 2-3 months after a heat cycle. Your girl is treating her littermates' ears like "babies" and is humping due to hormone levels....she is a bit confused but I would certainly not spay her for this reason alone.
Hormones will eventually normalize and the behaviors should stop. If they don't after a month or two (coinciding with the time she would have puppies), you may want to do a more comprehensive workup, and check sex hormone levels.
Less likely would be a hormone-secreting tumor, but is not reasonable to go to as a tentative diagnosis due to her young age and general overall health.
I bet this will go away by itself soon, but be aware that she may have hormonal issues in the future after her heat cycle if she is not bred.
Most vets would tell you the cure for pseudocyesis or false pregnancy is to breed her! Then when she is done with having puppies, spay her.