Excitement
Sexual arousal isn’t the only kind of excitement that your dog might express with humping. If your dog reaches any levels or uncontrollable excitement, they might use humping as a way to release that tension.
You will often see this if a dog has been at home alone all day and you finally walk through the door. They are so excited to see you that they might start humping the air,—or you. Again, while you might not necessarily like this, it isn’t a huge problem.
This suggests that you have a high-maintenance dog when it comes to sociability and attention, and that you should avoid leaving them at home alone for long periods at a time. If this is challenging because of work, it might be worth having a dog walker take them out during the day.
Another scenario might be a dog that spends most of the day inside. When you let them out to do their business and get a bit of exercise, they can get so excited that they start humping the air.
Again, this isn’t a huge problem, but it does suggest that they may not be getting the physical and mental stimulation they need. Up their daily exercise, and be sure to leave them with appropriate puzzle toys so that they have something to stimulate their minds while they are stuck inside.
You can find our recommendations for the best puzzle toys here.
FAQs
Humping is a harmless canine behavior that dogs do to release tension, which can be sexual tension, excitement, or anxiety. It is perfectly fine to let your dog hump in these circumstances.
However, if their behavior seems out of character, or doesn’t seem to have a clear cause, it can be a sign that there is something wrong with your dog. But in this case, the humping is a symptom, so rather than worrying about stopping the humping, try to identify the underlying cause of the behavior to deal with the problem at its source.