Humping mad!!

[Ruella]

Hello again ..
so i have had my pug x bull dog Freddo since he was 18months .. he is now 5 and I got him castrated . Always been such a well behaved boy and has never humped a thing ! 9 months ago we got a puppy . Our little pug Toby . They have always got on great . Since Toby is obviously 9months now so becoming sexually mature . But Toby has never humped . It’s Freddo! It’s all he does . He won’t play anymore he just goes straight for a sniff or a lick of the private sector lol and he’s the one always trying to mount Toby .. either on the face or the back I stayed with my sister last weekend and she has a springer pup 7months and Freddo wouldn’t leave him alone !! I keep telling myself that this is normal behaviour but god it’s a lot to take in and I don’t understand why it’s Freddo seems to be full of this sexual energy when he was castrated so many years ago . And it’s all he can think about .. help lol

 

[JoanneF]

Humping is not necessarily sexual behaviour. Your dog may be anxious or over excited in a non sexual way. To resolve this properly you really would need to know which. If it's excitement, don't let him get to that stage. Stop play or contact before he does it - it must be annoying for the pups too, and is quite bad dog manners. Keep him on a house line to stop him approaching them. If it's anxiety, keep a good distance between him and the pups. Baby gates might help and encourage him to have a safe space where the pups never go - an Adaptil product might help too.

 

[Ruella]

I wouldn’t say he’s anxious.. its seems more like frustration like he doesn’t know how to Communicate if that makes sense .. if It’s play time and Toby is playing Fred’s started to make noises like he’s frustrated then that’s when he just won’t leave tobys private’s alone and then try’s/ does mount . This has only been happening and happening more frequently over the last few weeks .

 

[JudyN]

Jasper's castrated but has very occasionally tried to hump other dogs. However, who he tries to hump can be pretty random - he was besotted with a pointer pup of about 7 months old who wasn't coming into season, he also pestered a male who was on a lot of medication for assorted health problems, and he had a brief but intense bromance with a male neutered cockerpoo we often met in the park. He also goes all gooey-eyed over bitches in season and would probably try to mount them if we didn't step in as soon as we knew they were in season - but mostly he just seems to think they smell wonderful.

I think castrated males (and maybe females) can get a bit confused (and who can blame them?!). Excitement and general frustration are definitely factors too (J will try to hump me if we've been playing at floor level and then I go to get up). Although I don't go along with dominance theory, I do think there can be an element of 'I'm the boss round here - got that, mate?' and paws on the back definitely seems to be a way J tries to convey this, particularly with young unneutered males. It's as if he's saying 'Mine are bigger, I'm just not sure where they are any more'

So... it might be difficult to work out the cause in a particular case, but I'd say distraction, redirection, nipping the behaviour in the bud (a behaviourist told me that humping is self-rewarding, so the more they do it the more they want to do it), and ensuring that Fred has plenty of one-on-one attention and his life isn't too disrupted by the new pup.

 

[Mad Murphy]

I would also urge you to consider the impact it has on the other dogs(his victims) too..
George, who is everyones BFF as soon as he meets them and who doesnt know what a bad mood is has been humped 3 times by the same dog at the park. Now if he so much as sees the humper, even on the other side of the park he turns into a snarling monster who wants to attack . His hair stands on end ,he won't walk away or lose sight of his tormentor, and he remains on high alert for hours. Its awful for him and for us ...