Dominant baby

[meganpatricia 0]

Here is something I didnt know I'd have to deal with with my 6 month old puppy...I just got him a week ago, and he is doing good on crate training (barks/whines and scratches for about 10-15 min after he is crated and then settles in), walks nicely on a leash and is generally a sweet, affectionate boy.

However, I have noticed that when he meets girl dogs is that he is REALLY interested in humping them!

He is not fixed yet, I am planning on getting him fixed ASAP, and wish the previous owner had done so already.

Does anyone else have experience with this and if so how did you train the behavoir? He is so sweet but VERY strong and stubborn when he gets an idea in his head.

[mr.coffee 364]

He's a boy...he can't help it.

-m

[kelly943 0]

it's his hormones going wild..getting him fixed should reduce that behavior.

[mom2Gizmo 24]

I agree with the others. You know, lots of dogs hump other dogs. Even females will do it. It's no biggie, though it can get embarrassing!

Getting him fixed may or may not help. My mom has a spayed female dog that is 10 years old. She was spayed as a pup. She has always humped other dogs despite being fixed. They say neutering helps with leg lifting. My shih tzu has been neutered for over a year, and he still lifts his leg in my home to mark things. Sometimes it decreases the behavior, and sometimes it doesn't.

[meganpatricia 0]

I guess it is a pretty normal doggy behavior. I'm just a new mom, I dont know what is normal and what I am supposed to 'nip in the bud' sometimes!!

Toby still squats to pee, its cute.

[kelly943 0]

i also think dogs do that to show dominance. my dog does it with 1 toy all the time..but doesn't hump any others..lol.

[Claudiabehr 3]

Kelly, Panda does it with her leopard toy. ONLY!

[kelly943 0]

LOL! It's a rabbit for us..it's getting raggedy! I'm gonna get 2 more of the same rabbit so she won't miss it when it becomes old. We have dominating girls hehe.

[Carolina Girl 2]

My Daisy is a big time humper! She has this little pillow that she likes to hump. My kids call it riding the motorcycle! She used to hump Ozzy, but she doesn't do that anymore. Just something that she likes to do......It's actually quite funny!

[Dakotah's momma 0]

My Dakotah 4 months does it to his leopard also. He is being neutered on Tues and his hernia done because his hernia has gotten bigger.

So I gather it is normal for dogs to do that.

[kelly943 0]

My Daisy is a big time humper! She has this little pillow that she likes to hump. My kids call it riding the motorcycle! She used to hump Ozzy, but she doesn't do that anymore. Just something that she likes to do......It's actually quite funny!

HAHA For some reason, I imagined a dog riding a motorcycle and it made me laugh out loud at work!! haha.

It really does look like that.

Edited April 15, 2010 by kelly943

[mr.coffee 364]

Heh...all the doggies gotta make sure the toys know their place. For whatever reason, we don't have any of that around here.

-m

[meganpatricia 0]

LOL, so what it sounds like is I should get Toby a stuffed leopard, they seem to be popular objects of affection. :)

[Claudiabehr 3]

I think it's really normal and when Panda does it it's usually after I've told her no about something. She tosses Mr. Leopard, growls at him, humps him and then tosses him around wildly. Doesn't hump anyone or anything else. I really do think it's a dominance thing........but if I had a male and he started grabbing legs................hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Mike, maybe you have well-behaved toys.

[mr.coffee 364]

Could be, or perhaps he simply rules with sheer terror - there've been many casualties around here. The last hedgehog only lasted a few days, the Loofah Dog I got him for Easter lasted a few hours, and he's even managed to destroy a duck made out of firehose type material! No need to hump what we can mangle & mutilate...

-m

[Claudiabehr 3]

Mike, I'd love to see him in action. He's a real boy!!!!! Some of P's toys she's had since last August still look almost new. I think she's a bit of a wussie. :)

[tzuhouse 4]

Well....yes, agree he IS a boy with raging hormones...and also agree neutering may or may not fix the problem....but once he is neutered and if he continues it, I would give a sharp NO to let him know it is not acceptable....especially to OTHER peoples dogs. Now at home with your own dogs OR toys, you have to decide if it is ok or not. My girl does it too...they have all been fixed, but it IS a dominance thing...if one dog plays too much with the other dog, they get a "humming" to let them know to whom they BELONG....LOL I always, say OFF, very strongly....cause the ALL BELONG TO ME.....

[mr.coffee 364]

Back on topic, eh? When Har was little he tried humping Devon quite a bit at first, the best fix for that was having Devon deliver the food bowl. Subtle psychological doggy manipulation and head games, but it worked. He tried it on me and Shannon a few times, we'd just roll him and fuss at him. He got the point.

Then he hit puberty, or something, and the hormones kicked in full force. That was right within a few weeks of 6 months old. He still knew where everybody stood as far as dominance humps, but he fell madly in lust with Shannon. Go fig...when he came home, that problem was quickly forgotten and hasn't recurred since.

Now, with Devon having spent a week away and Shannon on vacation, when they came home I wonder if he wanted to see what impact their extended departures had on the hierarchy. He humped Devon exactly once, he humped Shannon exactly once, and he humped me exactly once. All three times he was fussed at, and again it hasn't been repeated.

Toys, he doesn't bother.

Other dogs....now we get to the relevant bits. He is unconcerned with gender, and he is unconcerned with size. It seems some dogs he knows he can't mess with, he'll just treat them normal. Occasionally, he'll run into a dog he just feels the need to hump at least once, and most of the time just once. Most dogs get the casual meet & greet, sniff the butt and move on. I'm not sure where the pattern lies.

The most consistent one is Rex, an Aussie pup that my friend recently got. Beaux, the adult, he doesn't worry with, he'll sniff and try to play appropriately and such. Rex, though, when they get together it's on. He will hump Rex as often as he deems necessary, and Rex doesn't like it. Rex gets mouthy and tries - and fails - to roll Harley, and Harley immediately retaliates with a sound humping. Rex tries to herd Harley, and again, Harley responds by humping. This will go on until Rex gets the picture and stops. Oddly, he's the only dog I've seen Harley hump repeatedly.

Anyway, the point is that the only humping Harley does has nothing to do with yearnings for girls, and everything to do with establishing his rank with other dogs and not all dogs at that. Since, even with dogs he DOES need to hump, he usually humps once and briefly, then moves on and after that they'll get along famously, I haven't really treated it as a problem.

Claudia - I wish Harley would be more delicate with his toys sometimes. I also wish I had a good video camera. (Yeah, I know, the iPhone has a video camera...)

-m

[Claudiabehr 3]

Humph! Stole my thunder......however, iPhone camera sucks, if it's any consolation.

[mom2Gizmo 24]

I would like to add something here. Humping other dogs (and people) is often aboutt dominance. But not always. It is common for male dogs to become overstimulated simply when they are very excited (playing, meeting people, etc.) and hump in that situation also. That is not dominance. My mom's cockapoo is a female that humps, and when she humps (she only humps other dogs) it is all about dominance. She is not in an excited state when she does it. She is very deliberate in her actions. When a male dog humps simply from overexcitement, it is more frenzied and you can tell they are "excited". I once adopted an elderly corgi mix that was by nature very submissive and always gave off calming signals. But, at his old age of 14 years old would get excited when someone tried to throw a ball for him or play tug. He really couldn't physically play much but he would get a doggy smile on his face. Then he would sometimes try to hump you while he was playful. He would sometimes do it when I had company over too as he loved meeting people. My shih tzu, Gizmo, gets so excited to meet new people and he has done it in that situation also. So yes.....humping is often about dominanace, but not always.

[mr.coffee 364]

Eh? At least the iPhone is intended to be a multi-function toy phone with lots of gimmicks and gadgets, whereas all bonus features for the crackberry are more like afterthoughts and tacked-on hacks....good phone and messaging platform, not so good toy.

-m