female dog humping

kellymac · 06-02-2006, 03:53 PM

I have a 6 month old female border collie/australian shepherd mix. In the last month she has began humping my boyfriend. When he sits in a chair and puts his legs out she climbs on them and begins to hump. When we are in bed she will climb on top of him and begin to hump. I have never seen a female dog do this. I was just wondering if this is normal behavior or not. We are taking her to the vet to have her fixed on Monday. I wasn't sure if this would stop it or not. If it doesn't help with the humping, can we stop her from doing it? It's kind of embarasing when we have people over. Help!

Cheetah · 06-02-2006, 04:02 PM

Your puppy is trying to assert her dominance on your boyfriend. My spayed 6-year-old female does this to other dogs sometimes and I have her knock it off if she is persistant (it can cause fights if the other dog thinks it ranks higher than her), but she knows that it's absolutely unacceptable to do it to humans.

Spaying MIGHT curb it, but might not, as it's not really hormonal, but a pecking order thing. Just don't allow her to do it. If she starts humping your boyfriend while he's in bed trying to sleep, make her get off the bed. If she does it while you're sitting, get up and walk away. If she does it to a guest, just make her stop by pulling her away or have the guest stand up and walk away for a minute.

Curbside Prophet · 06-02-2006, 04:06 PM

Yes, this is a normal behavior, and no, having her spayed will not prevent the behavior. Female humping is believed to be a learned dominance behavior...most likely from her pup mates. This behavior can be minimized by teaching basic obedience like come-sit-stay-down, and having both you and your boyfriend, and even friends and family, teach your pup these commands. Are you familiar with the concept of "pack leader"? Because, the more your pup sees you as her leader, the less likely she will try to dominate you in this manner. Beyond that, reinforce good behavior with praise, correct all bad behavior as soon as they occur, no matter how cute it may be, and give your pup plenty of physical, mental, and social stimulation.

GSD lover · 06-02-2006, 05:35 PM

Yes, strangely female dogs do this. She is trying to dominate your boyfriend like Cheetah and Curb said. One good thing to do is have your boyfriend work on relationship skills with her. That way she can learn he is above her and she isn't above him.

bigdawgs · 06-03-2006, 07:33 AM

This still happens from time to time here, not to people, but to each other. Sometimes it starts out as play, but it is ALWAYS initiated by a lower dog, who thinks maybe she can sneak in and raise her status, and occassionally it ends up in a fight if the alpha doesn't like it and the subordinant won't give up. As long as it doesn't get too out of hand, I let the argument go. as this stops the behavior much more quickly that my interference ever could.

As soon as she starts this, take a very firm hand in stopping it immediately. She needs to understand that humans take precedence, period, the end. Make the bed off limits.

opokki · 06-03-2006, 04:04 PM

It may also be an expression of excess energy. Just like barking, chewing.
Interrupt her and redirect her to something else, preferably something incompatible with humping.

sheltieluver4 · 06-05-2006, 06:42 PM

Yeah this is dominance towards him, u do know animals can tell female and male humans, like my uncles dog was abused by a man so he is cautious of men now so maybe she is obsessed with men lol just correct her when she does this,and dont do a sweet little no

do a dominent NOOO!!! and mabye do a not to hard but not to soft pat on the snout, this happens with males 2, and im getting a female pup, i hope i can train her myself

MuhBabiPhill · 10-25-2009, 03:02 PM

my dog humps my leg when she wants to play fetch while i'm busy doing something else and i tell her no she just wags her tail and grabs my leg

Cracker · 10-25-2009, 07:11 PM

Humping is not always dominance, but is certainly a sign of emotion, whether it be anxiety, overexcitement, stress or even invitation to play..so a lot depends on the situation itself.
Cracker only humps other dogs when she's feeling insecure, so theoretically it could be an attempt at gaining some sort of physical control over the other dog.
As for people humping..It's most often stress related..does your BF live with you guys or only an "occasional" overnighter?
Whether it is "dominance" or not..it is simply a behaviour. If it's a behaviour you don't like you teach her its' not acceptable by removing her FIRMLY but not angrily and teaching her how to go to her her own bed and rewarding her for going there.