So Ronin is now 5 months old and I'm not sure when he will reached sexual maturity. Also, not sure what to expect when he does reach it and how will I know? He does "hump" the air sometimes, or his toys, but usually will stop when redirected. No lifting of his leg or marking territory, and hoping he won't in the house, but I'll be extra vigilant just in case. Any tips or advice would be great!

Funny story too. The other morning I let him up on the bed after he went out to do his business and ate his breakfast. My husband was still laying in bed, and Ronin went right over, up to his pillow and started humping my husband's face! No joke! I tried to tell him to stop but I have to admit I was laughing so hard I couldn't get the words out. He did this once with my younger brother when he came to visit, but my brother's head was at least under the blankets. My husband wasn't so lucky. He would tell Ronin to stop, but he didn't listen and would go right back to doing it. Finally I was able to control myself and got him off and he just came over, sat and looked up at me with his tail wagging. He's such a funny puppy some times. Needless to say my husband watches him very closely when he's up on the bed with us. Brightened my day right up sad to say!

I am not sure at what age they are fertile but I think it is recommended not to breed them until they are two yo.

But if you are looking at humping as an indication of sexual maturity, I don't think it is. If Ronin is house trained, there should be no indoor marking sexual maturity or not.

Thanks! He is house trained so I'm glad to hear he shouldn't mark in the house. Not so much the humping I'm worried about, but he's doing it a lot more frequently now than before so I wasn't sure if that meant anything or not. We are not planning on breeding him, but I just wasn't sure what to expect from him when he his puberty. Will his attitude change? Will he be more aggressive? Things like that.

I'm not going to be much help but I did get a male @ 2 yo. I had known him since he was a puppy and my friend was not going to keep him any more. He was a good dog. I had him 14 more years. He had an underwear fetish and tended to chew a lot of things that first summer. Likely not his fault as I had to sneak him into my place until I was able to move to a place where he was "allowed". Back in the days when dogs were expected to be out and about on their own, he would bring home things. I had boys come to my house to check if my dog had brought home their baseball equipment. He did bring home one mitt. They thought it was funny.
I've got lots of stories from life with that dog but they aren't going to help you. What I can say is "Don't borrow trouble" but do keep up the training - with more engaging work if he takes to it.

Thanks. We're going to obedience classes here in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping that will help give me more things to focus on with him. Now we just have to keep working on the commands when he's outside for walks or just in the front yard. He has a bit of a harder time with that.

Humping in a puppy is not a sexual behavior.

He will be able to reproduce in just a few more months if that is the question you are asking. Just because he is able to reproduce does not mean he is mature. He won't really mature until he is about 3.

Thanks I'm more curious as to how his behavior could change when he hits puberty. He will not be bred, but we are waiting to neuter him. I'm going to be home alone with him for the next 2 months because my husband is travelling for work, and since I grew up around female shepherds, not sure what to expect with a male. I totally get that he won't be mature until about 3, but it's more just in the next few months what I can expect that I am interested in at the moment

As with all dogs, he will begin to enter his teenage butthead stage. Remember when you were a teen? Ronin will be one too.

He may challenge you by not obeying commands, getting pushy and appearing to be willful. He is just testing his limits. You will need to be firm with your resolve to not let him get away with blowing you off. You don't have to be harsh, just fair and insistent. BTW - this is the time that most young dogs are surrendered to shelters and rescues. The owners cannot or will not cope with misbehavior and the dog is dumped.

Every dog goes through this to some degree. Some are worse than others. Personally, I know what to expect so I see it coming. I have never had a dog that did not give up pretty quickly because they knew it was fruitless. They figured out pretty quickly that my opposable thumbs meant a life for them so the challenges really were few and far between. This is not a hard stage just requires you to be on your toes a bit.

I have no intention of letting him get the upper hand. He tries that now with my husband, but I quickly step in and he stops right away. I am his alpha, and he knows it. Right now anyway. I have been warned that this will be a very difficult stage, and I'm up for the challenge. I know many owners can't handle it, but I hope that I'm made of some stern stuff and can just work my way through it. If I have trouble, I have a wonderful trainer that is more than willing to help me, and as she used to train K9 dogs the police department here in Canada for over 20 years, she has lots of tips and training exercises for me to do with him which helps a lot! She herself has 4 dogs, all the most well trained I have ever seen.