Puppies and Dogs engage in all kinds of human socially unacceptable behaviour, but for them, it’s perfectly normal dog behaviour. From rolling in the stinkiest of messes to mounting your leg, it’s embarrassing and undesirable behaviour from your furry friend.
However, we have to remember that our dogs are behaving normally. Humping, mounting, or thrusting is all normal doggy behaviour for both male and female dogs. It has nothing to do with dominance, and it may not be sexual either. Puppies and Dogs have been known to mount people, other dogs, cushions, toys, their beds, and even air. There are several reasons that dogs engage in humping behaviour.
Reasons Dogs Hump/Mount/Thrust
Some reasons that puppies and dogs hump:
- Play. Puppies will often mount each other during play, taking it in turns. Young dogs will also mount each other during play to initiate chase games. This isn’t sexual, they are reverting to puppy-type play.
- Over-arousal. When a dog or puppy becomes over-aroused during play they may start mounting excessively. It is time for your dog to have a break and some time to calm down. Excessive mounting can cause the other dog to react.
- Boredom. Puppies and dogs will often hump to relieve boredom and excess energy. Your dog will also have learned that it feels good.
- Stress Relief. Some dogs will hump or mount other dogs if they are feeling anxious. This isn’t about dominance, your dog is feeling anxious and this is how it releases its stress. If you don’t try to work out this issue your dog may become a compulsive humper.
- Sexual. Humping can be sexual, especially if there is a dog in season. Female dogs in season will also mount other dogs. Male un-neutered dogs will hump because of their hormones.
- Medical. Excessive humping and/or licking can be a sign of a medical issue. Your pup may have skin irritation, a urinary tract infection, or a problem with their back-end. A trip to the vet will help to resolve this issue.
My Dog Likes To Hump Everything
If your dog humps excessively and humps everything there are some questions you need to answer.
- Is your dog spayed/neutered?
- Is this a new behaviour?
- Does my dog only do this in certain situations?
Spaying or neutering your dog will reduce the humping and mounting, if it is a hormone-driven behaviour. Not only will spaying or neutering reduce the humping but it will also prevent unwanted pregnancies and medical complications for your dog later in their life.
If this is a new behaviour, a trip to the vet for a check-up will help to determine if your dog has an undiagnosed medical condition. A vet will be able to provide the necessary treatment.
The vet will also be able to help you determine if something is stressing out your dog and will be able to refer you to a behaviourist to help resolve the behaviour. It will be useful to determine what is triggering your dog to hump, and you can work with them to resolve it.
How Do I Stop My Dog Humping
Once you have determined what is triggering your dog and causing them to hump you can work towards removing or reducing the behaviour. Teaching your dog a different behaviour can successfully remove humping behaviour. Don’t shout at your dog, they won’t know why you are upset with them, this is normal behaviour for a dog.
When your dog starts to mount, get them to display an alternative behaviour. Reward your dog when they break off from humping and listen to you. This will take time, but your dog will soon learn that other behaviours receive rewards, but mounting or humping doesn’t.
It is always easiest to distract your dog by getting them to perform a task that they know securely, such as ‘sit’ or ‘fetch’. Teaching your dog to ‘leave it’ will also help when you’re outside and you want your dog not to mount the other dog or the other dog’s human!
When my female spayed Husky starts to mount another dog, I tell her ‘leave it’ and call her away. She does this when she’s over-excited and I take her away for a few minutes to calm down. As she’s gotten older this doesn’t happen too often anymore.
My Dog’s Embarrassing Humping Habit – My Conclusion
Both male and female dogs and puppies mount and hump, it’s what they do, just like rolling in stinky stuff. The best defence against the embarrassment of this for us humans is training. Teach your dog to ‘leave it’ or display an alternative behaviour and reward the positive behaviours.
If your usual non-humpy dog starts humping then get them to a vet for a check-up. If stressful situations trigger humping from your dog, try to make their environment as stress-free as possible. Your vet can recommend a good non-aversive trainer or behaviourist to help.
I hope that you found this article helpful.
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