pug erection and excessive barking

Question
dear Kristen
i don't know if the two issues are connected. i have an 11 month old male pug approx 14 pounds. he lives in the house and barely goes outside(my choosing). he gets lots of love and attention and is fed 6 very mini meals a day. 2 merrick, 2 fruit and 2 veggies. has toys that are rotated, a bed and a crate, and is wee wee pad trained. he does however love to bite.during the last three weeks he started to bark non stop. day and night for no apparent reason, nothing in his climate had changed.i even tried to play with him more but he just barks. im afraid he will eventually hurt himself. i also noted for the first time that his male member was completely exposed including his testicles which i did not even think was possible, his little tail was tucked between his legs and he almost appeared as if he were in pain. this lasted almost 15 minutes. it occurred again this evening so it was not a random thing and so i am becoming concerned , not understanding if it is part of a maturing cycle for the male pug puppy. could you please advise me. thank you for your time

Answer
Hi, Eisa. The first thing I would advise you to do is to stop feeding him so many meals a day. A dog's system is not designed to munch on food all day long; they are not grazing animals. ;^)  A dog's system is designed to eat larger quantities, less often. I would suggest that you begin cutting him down to one or two bigger meals a day, and do not include the fruits and veggies as part of his diet. You may, however, give fruits and veggies as special treats if you wish. There's nothing wrong with that, but they do not need to be part of his daily meals.

I'm a little bit confused as far as the problem you describe related to his penis. You say he was entirely exposed, including his testicles, but that doesn't make any sense. His testicles are back between his rear legs and are always 'exposed,' and his penis is contained within an outer sheath on his belly, and is only supposed to be exposed when the dog is aroused in some way (ie: happy excited or when in breeding mode). Without seeing what is going on with your dog, it's hard to say whether something is wrong, or if he is simply masturbating. Yes, some dogs do this, and some will even ejaculate (let me tell you, that is NOT fun to clean up out of a crate and all over a dog's legs and belly!!). If you are concerned, the best thing I can advise you to do is to call and talk to your vet about it.

The behavior changes you are noticing are related to adolescence and hormones. I would encourage you to consider having him neutered soon, unless you are showing him, or planning to. Unless you are involved in showing him, there is no reason to not have him neutered. In the long run, you both will be much happier, you won't have to worry about him running off to find a bitch in heat, and he will be at a lower risk of many reproductive-related diseases and disorders.