Why dogs hump other dogs and objects

Many owners often wonder why dogs hump and may find it embarrassing or funny when it is their dog that has a grand old time mounting other dogs or objects.

Mounting, which is the more formal reference for ‘humping’, is often associated with being sexual or dominant, however, this is not always the reason why dogs hump other dogs.

Pooches at Play Host and Dog Trainer, Lara Shannon, explains some of the reasons behind why some dogs like to mount other dogs or hump away on innate objects (or even children), and explains why we should try to understand the motivation behind it rather than assume it is sexual or dominant play.

She also provides some tips on what to do when dogs hump other dogs or objects to help discourage the behaviour if it is starting to become a problem.

Non-sexual reasons why dogs hump:

• Excitement
• Anxiety
• To be playful
• Individual play style

When a dog is obsessively humping an object, perhaps due to anxiety, this is when it can become a problem. To combat this we need to calmly remove the object and make a point to never laugh or acknowledge the behaviour because the dog might interpret that as positive attention that reinforces the behaviour, and it could even turn into a compulsive disorder.

Watch the video for further information and tips. If you continue to have problems and would like some help with this and other common behaviour problems like this, visit Ndtf.net.au to find a trainer that could help, or for more information on how studying the Certificate in Dog Training and Behaviour.