My bichon humps other dogs...a lot!

[lilmisszarah]

Every time we go to the dog park or another dog on our street wants to play with Henry, he finds it necessary to hump the other dog as much as possible. He is 8 months old and neutered. He will also sometimes hump people that come to our house. He's not as bad about that as he was, but he's horrible with other dogs. It's embarrassing and annoying. How can I get him to stop? He's not the most obedient dog, so it's not like I can just call him to me when he starts to do it. He totally ignores me.

[Patch O' Pits]

Every time we go to the dog park or another dog on our street wants to play with Henry, he finds it necessary to hump the other dog as much as possible. He is 8 months old and neutered. He will also sometimes hump people that come to our house. He's not as bad about that as he was, but he's horrible with other dogs. It's embarrassing and annoying. How can I get him to stop? He's not the most obedient dog, so it's not like I can just call him to me when he starts to do it. He totally ignores me.
Humping is a dominance behavior females and males alike exhibit this behavior being fixed doen't matter either. The only time it is not a dominace thing is if there is a female in heat around.

Your dg needs to be corrected everytime it happens. Say a Firm NO and remove him from the situation.

PLEASE Do NOT take this pup to a dog park he is going to try to hump the wrong dog and get in a fight. I would not have him off lead if he doesn't come when called either. Both things are HUGE safety concerns.

[ssammiewh]

I might be able to help. "Humping" in dogs terms often has nothing to do with a sexual act. What your dog is doing is showing the other dog that he is the "alpha" leader or the dominate dog. This is normal behaivor, especially for a dog who is 8 months old for he is coming into his teenage years and is establishing the type of dog that he is. What I would strongly suggest to help and cure this problem, is to socialize him with many dogs (that you know so no fights occure) and different situations. This is a problem that many times later in life can start to be a sign of other problems. It is important that you establish with him where his place is and who is the dominate one. If you have any further questions, drop me a line at Ssammiewh@aol.com

[lilmisszarah]

He's better about it now that he is neutered, but I stopped to talk to a man in my neighborhood the other day that was also walking his dog and we let our dogs meet and Henry did try to hump the other dog, but I corrected him and he didn't try as much as he used to. I've heard he might also grow out of this behavior, but I'm going to keep correcting him.

[Jennifer]

I just joined today and was reading through the training section as I am a trainer. This is a very common problem and really one that most people complain about because it is so embarrassing to them. But that is about all that it is. The more you socialize your dog the less that this will happen, it is also important to let the other dog tell your dog that they don’t want your dog humping them, rather then you.
IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DOMINANCE! This is a very common misconception. I have 3 female dogs and one female who humps on occasion and she is not the dominant dog in my house. Where this is dominance is if you have a stud dog and there are females in heat then there could be a dominance issue. The main problem is people think dogs are like humans- they do not think like us. Your dog is testing it boundaries, I say put your dog into an obedience class- one right after another. Your dog needs structure and more socializing. Look at a wolf pack and you will find that pups will hump the dominant alphas and they let the pups do it.
As far as the dog humping people when they come over, your dog needs to learn the rules of the house, the best way to do this is tether the dog to you. A six foot tether and a gentle leader would be great. It is much easier to teach your dog the rules when he is six feet from you rather then yelling across the room. Call around and find a great trainer, maybe one willing to come to your house and work with you. If not set your dog up, put the dog on a tether and invite friends over for a puppy training day! Remember your dog is still a puppy.
Think about it as if your dog was in school you can not follow your 'kid' around all day they need to learn how to interact with other kids by interacting with other kids- what your dog is doing is a normal dog behavior not something that he should be punished for. I take my dogs and my clients dogs to the dog park all the time if you do not feel comfortable at this moment to take your dog to the park- put the dog in obedience classes, if you don’t continue to socialize the dog now you will have more problems the a puppy who humps.
Hope this helps.

[DiggityDogs]

.
IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DOMINANCE! This is a very common misconception.

This is untrue. It is an attempt to assert dominance, whether it's a serious attempt or not, it's still an attempt. If your females are doing this there may be a shift in power coming for your more dominant dog.

Where this is dominance is if you have a stud dog and there are females in heat then there could be a dominance issue.

No, this is when is sexual, and not asserting dominance. Have you ever seen dogs breed? Often times the female can be the more dominant one, even to the point of not letting the male do his job, and the 'humping' doesn't change that. It's purely homone driven in this instance.


Look at a wolf pack and you will find that pups will hump the dominant alphas and they let the pups do it.
.

An alpha may be tolerant of a pup or cubs behavior because they're puppies, but eventually he (or she) will snap at them and tell them to knock it off, because he IS after all the alpha, and they could not possibly dominate him at that age.

I've never seen a submissive dog hump another dog, or anyone's leg or arm for that matter. It has everything to do with dominance.

[lilmisszarah]

I read that dogs hump for different reasons. It was primarily thought that dogs only humped for dominance, but now there are new studies that show that dogs of an adolecent age (like my dog) hump b/c they are exploring sex. Kind of like a horney teenager. They're just trying out what they have. I believe that's what Henry is doing. While it is natural for him to explore his new found manliness, he also needs to know what is expected of him and from what I read it is possible to break your dog from humping or he will probably grow out of it, but like someone said earlier in this thread. He will eventually try to hump the wrong dog and will get in a fight. Henry is the smallest dog usually at the dog park and I'm not going to have him get into a fight with some German Shephard or a Rotwiler.

I do agree that we need to enroll him in an obedience class, but at this time we really can't afford it, so we will continue to train him ourselves. Socializating with other dogs is not his problem. Henry was with his littermates until he was 3 months old and is very socialized. He's just not very obedient and his stubborness is a trait of his breed.

[DiggityDogs]

I read that dogs hump for different reasons. It was primarily thought that dogs only humped for dominance, but now there are new studies that show that dogs of an adolecent age (like my dog) hump b/c they are exploring sex. Kind of like a horney teenager. They're just trying out what they have. I believe that's what Henry is doing. While it is natural for him to explore his new found manliness, he also needs to know what is expected of him and from what I read it is possible to break your dog from humping or he will probably grow out of it, but like someone said earlier in this thread. He will eventually try to hump the wrong dog and will get in a fight. Henry is the smallest dog usually at the dog park and I'm not going to have him get into a fight with some German Shephard or a Rotwiler.


It is true that dogs hump for different reasons, but based on the information you've given me your dog is not humping to 'explore sex'. He is neutered, so he's got much less testosterone flow, but also the biggest clue is that he's not jsut humping females- other dogs in general and the fact that he's humping PEOPLE clue us in that this is a dominant behavior. Dog's don't explore sex on anything and everything available- because dogs don't have 'recreational sex'. If they're going to do it, they're doing it to create puppies, which is only possible with a female in heat. Your dog can tell with one sniff whether or not a dog is of age and breeding status that he should try to mate with them. A dog that's trying to mate is VERY determined and much more intense with his behavior than a dog that's trying to hump to display dominance. I'm glad that you'll work on training him because this is the best course of action for your problem. Good luck!

[Rio&Nickysmommy]

I belive you guys are right. The very first day I moved Rio and Nicholas in together I could not understand what was going on they kept trying to hump each other and this went on constantly. I called the vet and was told it was dominance. Hence said get an empty soda can put pennies in it shake it anytime you see them start. Hence they hated the noise and stopped- never had to say a word about it to them again. Thats how we solved humping i our house. On a rare occasion I have caught Nicky going to do it to Rio and its always when Rio is doing something that Nicky doesn't want him to do.
I always kncok that stuff off right away.
Rio&Nickysmommy

[Rio&Nickysmommy]

P>S> Their is a movie I saw last night cant remeber the name the ROck and some other guy were caught hanging upside down in a tree and Some moonkeys came along and the monkey started humping the Rock and the other guy told him show him your more dominant. He is doing it to show his dominance. So I guess many animals do that too.
RIo&Nickysmommy

[lilmisszarah]

I have read about the pennies in the pop can. I'm going to set one of those up. Thanks!