What does dog humping feel like? Let’s Explore

Are Dogs Like Their Owners?Can you judge a person by their dog? Stephanie Sy talks with dog behavioralist Victoria Wells about how people gravitate toward dogs with character traits that they want to project to others.

When Does Dog Humping Signal a Problem?

Sometimes, dog humping is a dog behavior problem or a sign of a dog health issue:

Compulsive disorders. In dogs, compulsive disorders are repetitive habits that can be both uncomfortable and interfere with the way they function. Humping can become a compulsive habit that requires behavioral treatment.

Urinary problems. In some dogs, humping can be a sign of a urinary problem, such as a urinary tract infection or urinary incontinence.

Persistent erections. When humping is almost always associated with an erection, it could mean that your dog has priapism, recurrent painful erections.

If you notice that your dog has been excessively humping, call your vet. It could be a serious concern that requires treatment.

4 Ways to Deal With a Humping Dog

Occasional humping isn’t usually a problem, and you dont need to do anything about it. In fact, many dogs mount or hump a couple of times a day.

But if your dogs excessive humping has become an issue, there are some things you can do to help:

Distract your dog. When humping is inappropriate or bothersome, try to distract your dog by issuing an obedience command or trick, such as sit or shake, or offering him a favorite treat or toy for behaving politely without humping. Distraction is especially effective if you use it before your dog begins humping, when you first notice signs that humping may soon start.

Consider spaying or neutering. While spaying and neutering do not always bring humping to a stop, they sometimes help to reduce your dogs sex drive. This is particularly helpful for male dogs that tend to mount around female dogs in heat and for female dogs that tend to mount when they are in heat.

Use obedience cues. In many cases, you can teach your dog to stop mounting or humping just as you can teach him or her to sit, stay, or lie down. To do this, watch your dog closely and use a command, such as “leave it,” just before he or she begins mounting or humping. If your dog follows your command, reward her with a treat.

Play games. If your dog often humps other dogs or people during play, try showing him or her other games to play with dogs. That way, instead of using humping to initiate play, your dog will be able to enjoy playing tug or fetch with other dogs and other people.

For your safety, do not try to stop a dog from humping if you are worried the dog may become aggressive.

If you’re unsure whether dog humping is just a nuisance or an indication that your dog needs medical attention, discuss the situation with your vet.

So there you have it. Humping is a normal doggy behavior, albeit a somewhat embarrassing one for those of us on the other end of the leash. As for Duke, he’s long since stopped his anxious and inappropriate response to Mischief. Now that he’s gotten to know her better, he can play appropriately with her without resorting to humping. In fact, he just spent the past five days with her, and didn’t need to be redirected a single time… a relief for everyone involved.

Play: Play is interesting. When dogs or other mammals play, they mix up a bunch of behaviors in new sequences. These behaviors have very useful roots: chasing, stalking, and pouncing are useful hunting behaviors; mouthing and wrestling are useful fighting behaviors; and humping is a useful sexual behavior. Some biologists believe that play is practice for the real world. By mixing all of these useful behaviors up with some other signals that mean “just kidding, I’m still playing and not really planning to eat you for dinner,” dogs get a chance to practice moving their bodies in ways that could increase their chances of surviving a situation where the behaviors were needed for real.

Status: While this is a common attribution for humping, dogs almost never use humping as a form of status seeking or as a display of status. In fact, in over ten years of training, I’ve only met one dog who appeared to use humping as a means of status seeking. (And even in that case, the dog was also pretty insecure, so the humping was more likely caused by her anxiety than by her desire to climb the social ladder.)

It just feels good: Frankly, dogs just like to hump sometimes. All mammals masturbate, and some dogs will hump a favorite toy or pillow. From a behavioral standpoint, there’s no reason not to let Fido or Fifi have a little “me time” on occasion behind closed doors as long as it’s not causing problems. Before Dobby’s seizure disorder took over his life, he and Mischief would often hump each other when they were playing. As long as both dogs seemed okay with it I wouldn’t interrupt them (although I would ask them to take it outside). That doesn’t mean it’s always okay, though: I draw the line at humping people, and if my dogs do this I redirect them and teach them more appropriate ways to interact with humans.

Does your dog ever hump? Why do you think this happens? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

What Does Normal Behavior Look Like?

Whether you call it humping, mounting or thrusting, the behavior is natural in male and female dogs. For some dogs, it is a response to arousal. For others, it can just be a way to exert dominance and show that theyre the top dog in the house.

Humping other pets, people or even the living room couch once or twice a day is not considered excessive. If even the occasional occurrence is bothersome to you or your family members, there are a few things you can do to limit or eliminate this quirky behavior.

Pet parents often notice mounting behavior starting about the time a female dog enters her first heat. Many veterinarians recommend spaying or neutering your dog before he or she reaches that point to prevent unwanted behaviors. Neutering also prevents a surprise litter of puppies and reduces your pets risk of testicular or mammary cancer. However, even dogs who are spayed or neutered might still exhibit some humping behavior from time to time.

The ASPCA recommends teaching the “leave it” command early for all dogs to leave unwanted objects alone. Once your dog knows this command, you can signal to her that she should step away from furniture, other dogs or guests. If you see your dog preparing to mount an object (by rubbing, licking or whining), you can say “leave it” and distract your four-legged friend with a toy or a more desirable activity. Although it may take some time to train your dog to do this, it may be the easiest way to stop unwanted humping.

Why Does My DOG HUMP ME? (Causes and What to Do)