Both male and female dogs hump for a range of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with sexual desire. But if allowed to continue, mounting can become habitual, so it’s best to stamp it out before your dog latches onto the family cat – who may not be so understanding.
Why is my puppy humping?
Puppies don’t reach puberty until they’re six to eight months old, so humping is non-sexual play behaviour. It’s one of the first ways a puppy discovers its own strength and social standing. Because of this, it can continue into adulthood, even if your dog is female and has been desexed.
Some dogs respond to stressful or exciting situations by mounting things. So, if your puppy or dog is greeting you at the door with a friendly leg-hump, they’re probably just glad to see you. It may also happen if your puppy is scared at the dog park.
Sexually motivated mounting is usually accompanied by certain body language: tail up, panting, whining, or pawing.
At what age does a puppy start humping?
Due to the non-sexual nature of humping in young puppies, it is possible to bring your puppy home with a humping habit already developed. At around 6 months, once your puppy reaches their sexual maturity, their humping will grow more sexually charged.
It’s important to begin training early with your puppy to try and tackle this behaviour before it becomes an ingrained habit.
Is it normal for a puppy to hump?
Humping is most often a normal part of all puppies’ lives, male or female. Although we may interpret it as taboo through our eyes, it’s important to remember it is often nonsexual and habitual for puppies to hump.
Humping is usually a way to alleviate excitement during play, stress relief or an expression of dominance. Without proper training and discipline, it’s likely the humping in males or females will become excessive and provoke other dogs.
If your adult dog has begun humping recently, it could be a symptom of a medical-related issue. If humping suddenly appears or grows more frequent, it could be a sign of urinary incontinence, a UTI, skin allergies or priapism (a prolonged erection that is not necessarily related to sexual activity). We’d recommend visiting the vet in these cases.
Why is my female puppy humping?
It is not uncommon for female dogs to hump often if they have not been spayed or desexed. Female puppies tend to have their first season anywhere between 6-12 months old. However, humping in female dogs can still just be the result of them attempting to assert social dominance and honing their social interaction skills.
How to stop puppy humping
Even if you find it amusing, being a responsible pet parent involves teaching your pet that humping isn’t socially acceptable behaviour. Here are some suggestions on how to stop your dog from humping.
Tough love
Humping is usually caused by anxiety or over-excitement. Give them some calm time to settle, for example by sending your puppy or dog to their ‘time-out’ spot, ensuring there are no nearby toys, and receiving no attention during this time.
If your puppy hasn’t tried mounting again after a few minutes, provide them with positive feedback like a treat or praise.
De-stress
As your dog may be humping things because they’re stressed or over-excited, distract them with a toy or get them to follow a pre-learned cue – like sitting or lying down – then reward them.
Routines and relaxing environments are an important part of ensuring your pets don’t become too stressed and act out through humping.
Exercise
An energetic outside game can also be a good diversion. Extending your dog’s daily exercise regime can burn off any extra aggression, energy or stress that may be causing the humping.
Depending on your breed type, adopting equate exercise into your dog’s daily routine can tire your dog out and give them an outlet to channel their pent-up energy.
Expert Help
Humping in your dog is often symptomatic of excitement, hyper-activity or struggles with socialising. We’d recommend your puppy receive professional training to help manage their behaviours overall. Our Puppy School service could be the perfect place to start.
Providing your dog with professional training can help ensure the humping does not become a habit and help you know how to predict humping behaviour and therefore, prevent it. In more serious cases, consulting Greencross Vets is recommended.
Desexing
Spaying or neutering your puppy early can stop them developing sexually motivated humping behaviour. In female dogs, it will eliminate mounting while she’s in heat. In male dogs, it may reduce sexual desire and testosterone levels. Consult your Greencross Vets about the desexing process.
Medical diagnosis
Get your local Greencross Vets to rule out health concerns like skin allergies, urinary tract infections, or incontinence. In some cases, the humping behaviour could reflect more serious medical concerns, particularly when appearing in male or female dogs who rarely hump.