Why Do Dogs Hump? Dog Training in Northern Virginia | Off Leash K9 Training
This is one of the many dog training issues we deal with in Northern Virginia.
You may notice your dog humping something or everything and wonder why your dog does it. Part of you wants to laugh and post the video but other times this can be an incredibly embarrassing situation. Whatever the reason is, knowing the reason that they do this can be very helpful to you to as a way to get the solutions for this problem. This will take a close look at the reasons behind this embarrassing problem so you can fully understand why dogs hump.
While you may think that humping is a solely sexual act, there are actually quite a few reasons for why this happens. One reason for this is because it is a sexual act. You may think that only unneutered males do this but the fact is that all dogs are capable of this act. Male or female, fixed or not, your dog may hump another dog. This is the most obvious reason for this type of behavior.
Another major reason for this is because they are playing. Play behavior can very closely resemble sexual behaviors. When they are playing, you will not notice things like erections or ejaculation as you would when they are humping for sexual reasons. What you do need to worry about is when a dog that is poorly socialized starts displaying this behavior. This means that the dog does not know how to play properly, so it gets aroused during playtime. If you notice this is happening to your dog, you should plan more playdates to learn how to better socialize.
There is also a social component to humping. A dog may mount or hump another dog as a way to show their power and control over the other dog. Dogs, as you likely know by now, are a species that absolutely relies on a hierarchy. The dogs rely on a hierarchy so other dogs know who the boss is. If a dog is humping another one, she could be sending the message that she is the top dog.
There could also be something emotionally wrong with your dog. A dog may hump because they are feeling over-emotional at the time. If they are feeling overly stressed or emotional, they may hump you, a toy, or some other object that is around the house. If the dog is allowed to continue to do this as a way to relieve this stress, this can turn into a compulsive act. A compulsion can interfere with the quality of life that your dog has so you really need to stop this behavior.
A final reason for this could be for medical reasons. Some of the medical problems can include skin allergies, urinary incontinence, urinary tract infections, and priapism.
There are a few things you can do to help. Fixing your dog may not eliminate the problem but it will certainly reduce the risk of this happening. You can also distract the dog if you notice that they are about to start humping. Another thing you can try is to put your dog in a time out away from anything else for a few minutes. Finally, you can try use your dog’s training by yelling a command.
If you are having issues with your dog humping, we can give you full control over this!
Contact us at:
888-413-0896