HUMPING DOGS

AMOROUS INTENTIONS OR IS THERE ANOTHER REASON?

Humping Dogs – Amorous intentions or is there another reason?

Recently Boris Johnson remarked that his little Jack Russell Terrier Cross, Dilyn has ‘romantic urges’ and a ‘liking for people’s legs’. This has caused quite a stir in the media with lots of other pet parents remarking they have similar issues.

What we need to understand is that humping people’s legs, cushions, pieces of furniture or other dogs is not just an amorous act. It can absolutely, be linked to hormones and some dogs practising out behaviours mimicking mating, particularly in adolescent males or bitches coming up to, or in season, but this is not always the case.

This behaviour can also be seen at other times:

Play behaviour – if play is over exciting and your dog becomes over aroused this can lead to humping as an outlet for excitement.

Attention seeking – if your dog feels he has to seek your attention or feels attention is not being given, humping is often a behaviour which for the dog, gets a quick result of attention. Humping people is embarrassing and dogs often have sharp nails!

Signs of stress – if your dog has no other outlet with which to get rid of stress, humping can be a way for the dog to feel better. Providing appropriate, safe items to chew, adequate and appropriate exercise, calming mental stimulation and a species appropriate diet can help with de-stressing dogs.

Signs of disease – both male and female dogs can suffer from hormonal issues which may lead to humping.

The key is to find out why they are showing this behaviour in the first place.

The first port of call is your Vet to ensure there are no disease conditions that need addressing.

When your dog has received a clean bill of health then working with a professional canine behaviourist is the next consideration. A behaviourist will be able to help you unpick what may be behind the behaviour and help you put together an appropriate plan to help your dog.

By not allowing humping to become a default behaviour and getting to the problem early, you can teach an alternative behaviour which is more appropriate. If humping is allowed to continue it can lead to frustration which in turn can escalate into other, more serious behaviours.

Botanical Healing is an awesome way to help in emotional behaviours and is an integral part of the work that I do. For more information on how botanicals can help your dog please visit my website by clicking here.

Or email me: caninesenses@btinternet.com