Are you wondering why your male dog is acting strangely? You might if you have noticed that your male dog is acting weird and trying to sneak to the female dog next door.
So, how do male dogs react to a female in heat? Despite popular beliefs, male dogs don’t go into heat. Male dogs react to the scent of females in heat and get restless, anxious, and aggressive in their desperation to reach the female.
So, how does a male dog’s behavior change when he smells a female in heat? Keep on reading to find the answer.
10 Ways Male Dogs React to a Female in Heat
A female Pom’s heat cycle has four stages and it doesn’t depend on external factors such as the presence of a male Pom nearby. Once your Pom reaches sexual maturity, she will go into heat twice or three times a year regardless of her willing to mate or her readiness to be a mother.
Male Poms, on the other hand, don’t have a heat cycle, per se. Their desire and ability to mate depend on an external factor – a female in heat. Only then you’ll notice some of these 10 ways male dogs react to a female in heat.
1. Escape Attempts
One of the most common reactions of a male dog reacting to a female in heat is his passionate desire to escape the house. Left unsupervised, your Pom might dig his way out of the yard, chew his leash off, or jump through an open window. Door dashing is also quite common.
While that might not sound like your male Pom, hormones are a powerful force. Male dogs are known to go to extreme lengths to escape when a female is in heat. So, even a timid Pom will forget his fear of the outside world and will boldly leave the house if he has the opportunity to do so.
Don’t ever underestimate your Pom. His small size means that it’s far easier for him to find out how to sneak out of the house compared to a bigger dog. Be vigilant, or you’ll have to comb the neighborhood looking for your Pom.
2. Sniffing
When female dogs go into heat, they release tons of pheromones to attract all the male dogs in the area.
You know that your Pom’s sense of smell is far superior to yours. However, you’d still be surprised when I tell you that they can smell a female in heat from as far as three miles. When that happens, male Pomeranians are extra motivated to learn more about that female.
As such, your male Pom will be interested in sniffing everything when you go for a walk and might be reluctant to abandon a particularly fascinating spot.
While you might not smell anything out of the ordinary, your male Pom is gathering a ton of information about the female. If you allow him, he will be happy to follow the scent to its source.
3. Frequent Marking
Another way to tell that your male dog is reacting to a female dog in heat is scent marking. You will notice that your male Pom is marking all over the house or peeing almost everywhere when you take him for a walk.
All dogs use scents as a means of communication, and urine marking during heat proclaims your Pom’s availability and readiness to mate. If there are other intact dogs in your neighborhood, they will do the same thing. That will prompt your Pom to re-mark any spots outside that smell like other dogs.
A male Pom’s urine marking is also a sort of challenge/warning to other males who happen to be in the same territory.
4. Refusal to Obey
Once a male Pom smells a female in heat it’s quite likely that all your obedience training will go out the window. The simple truth is that even high-value treats are not worth it when there is a female somewhere in the vicinity who is ready to mate.
So, your male Pom might refuse to come when you call him, ignore commands, or act out due to his inability to reach the female Pom.
5. Aggressive Behavior
A female Pom in heat attracts males as honey attracts flies. In nature, dogs fight for the right to mate with the female. So, your timid Pomeranian might get aggressive once their hormones kick in.
Sometimes Pomeranians forget how small they are and could pick a fight with someone twice their size. That’s especially true when you throw a female in the mix. Such fights are usually vicious and end with injury or death, in some cases.
So, you should be very careful to keep your male Pomeranian away from other males until the female’s heat cycle is over.
6. Restlessness
Does your male Pomeranian appear restless and anxious? That could be due to a female in heat. Since your Pom can’t reach the female, he’s bound to be sexually frustrated and might not be able to stay still.
So, you should be prepared for your male Pom to run around the house or spend a lot of time in the yard looking for a way out.
7. Humping
Has your male Pomeranian started humping inanimate objects or your legs? That’s a very strong indication that a close-by female is in heat because humping and mounting are sexual positions for dogs. Female Poms also hump when they’re in heat.
However, you should keep in mind that humping is not always related to sexual arousal. For neutered Poms, humping might be a way to show dominance or a reaction to something exciting.
8. Barking & Whining
A male dog reacting to females in heat is likely to bark, whine, and howl to be let outside far more than usual. When you refuse to take him outside, your Pomeranian will probably continue to act out in the hopes that you’ll give up and open the door to the outside world.
While the noise might drive you crazy, you should keep your male Pom strictly inside while there is a female in heat. As I already mentioned, male Poms will run away given a chance, and due to their small size, they can get hurt easily.
If your Pom barking or whining too much, you might confine him to a room until he calms down.
9. Change in Appetite and Sleeping Patterns
Once their hormones kick in, the sexual arousal is so strong that your male Pom might lose his appetite. Hunger gets pushed in the background because it isn’t as important as mating.
In addition to this, you Pom might also spend most of the time wide awake trying to find a way out of the house or barking/whining. Since a female’s heat lasts around three weeks, you have to be prepared for some “difficult” days.
10. Lack of Concentration
Last by not least, lack of focus is common in male dogs reacting to females in heat. Your pooch can’t concentrate on any task you might give him because his mind is flooded with hormones. As such, there is only one thought that overshadows everything else – find the female.
So, try to be patient with your Pom if he isn’t up to his usual focused self. Punishing or scolding is counterproductive, and will only frustrate and scare your Pomeranian.
Closing Thoughts
As you have already learned, male Pomeranians don’t go in heat. However, their behavior is affected by the pheromones released by a female in heat.
These signs of a male dog reacting to a female in heat are quite common, but some of them could mean that your pooch is ill or in pain. If you’re not 100% sure that your male Pom is reacting to a female in heat, you should take him to your vet for evaluation.
