Humping/Mounting

Meh. Disturbing subject but Napolean keeps doing it. He keeps trying to hump and actually herd other dogs (like they're cattle and he's not playing). Yesterday there was some sort of aroma going on in the dog park because of a certain female (the owner said she was spayed but I'm not sure) and Napolean would NOT stop trying to get it on with her xP. His private came out too...What do I do? When he kept trying to get to her he ended up nipping another dog and snapping at two other dogs. He's been nuetered for 3 years so I don't know what's going on. Once the female left he kept trying to hump and herd ONE dog. The other dog was getting pretty annoyed and turned to bark at him more than once but there Napolean was, following him everywhere! Any advice or info as to why he's doing this and how I can get him to stop? Another thing is that he wasn't the only one to try and mount the female, but he was the only one who kept trying to get after her (all the other dogs left after one attempt) even when she snapped at him. Any advice???

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Permalink Reply by Beth on September 10, 2012 at 7:01am

Humping is complicated. It can be dominance, but it can be affiliation (which is more submissive behavior--- a "I'm with him" sort of thing), it can be excitement over play, and it can be sexual.

I don't think you will change him. Jack will try to hump any dog he can reach if there is enough activity going on. However, he should be listening to another dog's "back off" request.

If he listens when other dogs tell him off, I would let it go. If he does not, I would just calmly leash him up and take him away and let him loose again when he's calmer.

You will read many, many sources on line that say this is a sign of dominance. That is NOT true; not only dominant dogs hump, and not only males practice mounting behavior.

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Permalink Reply by Ludi on September 10, 2012 at 10:24am

Ace gets humped like crazy by other dogs, and he is such a gentleman about it that he has never told off any of them for it. If you run in to a case like him, please leash him and let him cool off, like Beth said. I get really annoyed when a dog trails Ace all around the park, humping him every time he stops to sniff something. I don't think Ace is bothered by it, personally, but I know that his mobility is reduced and to be quite honest it's just kind of gross to watch. :-D

I think it's just excitability - Napolean must have a pretty low threshold for what is "play" and then what needs to turn into a hump-fest. Have you looked into biofeedback with dogs? I use it with Ace whenever he gets rowdy in the house. Basically it's about massaging and breathing exercises with your dog, to induce a calmer state of mind. I think if you look around on the web, you'll find some resources talking about it.