How to Stop Your Dog from Humping You and Your Guests
It is the kind of embarrassment that makes you wish you’d gotten a cat. You have guests over at your home – your parents, in-laws, colleagues, or your boss – and out of nowhere, your little rascal of a mutt grabs one of their legs and starts humping away! I had never been a fan of neutering until my dog started humping my dad (yes, it is as gross as it sounds) and I decided: yup, it’s time for you to get the snip, you filthy animal! In this post, I share tips on how to stop your dog from humping you.
But hang on a second; is that really the solution? Do dogs only hump because they are in the need of some loving, or is there more to it than that? Well, as with all things dog-related, there are so many different reasons and thankfully, different positive ways to solve the problem that don’t involve setting your dog loose on any female dog you come across.
Why Do Dogs Hump?
The natural interpretation of humping or mounting is that a dog is in the mood for sex. After all, that is the position male dogs take when they are getting their freak on. But this theory gets blown to bits when we realize that female dogs hump too, and so do dogs that have been neutered or spayed.
As you well know, dogs can hump anything. Hands, legs, stuffed toys, your head if you’re lying on the floor or the sofa, a goldfish tank, whatever; anything is fair game. Time and place have no impact. They could be in your home, on the street, at the park, or in the gym. Wherever they can find something to lean on, they would hump. And in some cases, even if there is nothing around, they could start air-humping. These might sound like the actions of a mad dog, but don’t be alarmed, it is all perfectly natural.
So, in no particular order, here are some of the reasons dogs hump:
Happy Dogs Hump
When dogs are happy, they would sometimes show their excitement by humping. The excitement might show in the form of an erection, but not always so. In the case of my dog humping my dad, he hadn’t seen him in a long time and he was just very excited. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it is embarrassing nonetheless, and there are more fashionable ways of showing excitement like wagging its tail or running around in circles.
Humping is also a part of puppy play. They do it as a means of showing affection or tomfoolery. Obviously, in this case, it can’t be said this is sexual in nature.
Humping Because of Anxiety
Anxiety may be the most common cause of humping. Dogs without a clue as to how to behave in public might decide to mount the house guest or other dogs instead. When your dog humps every guest that comes to your house, this could be a sign of anxiety humping. The same holds true when he or she humps any dog it meets.
In this situation, your dog’s facial expression won’t suggest excitement. The experience is a means of relieving that stress it feels about socializing or doing things it finds uncomfortable.
Humping To Seek Attention
If their puppy eyes or bark won’t get your attention (probably because you’ve taught him not to bark) then maybe humping will. While it is easy to manage our reactions when our dog does something independently we don’t like, when he pounces on your leg and starts humping, it is pretty difficult to keep a straight face. Our response is usually to pick the dog up, burst out in laughter, or try and push him off. In any case, your dog gets what he wanted all along: attention.
While this may not always be easy to determine, you might notice that your dog only does this after he’s been parading himself for a while and you didn’t give him a second look. This could be extended to guests, hoping that at least one of them would pay him attention.
Purely Sexual
Of course, we cannot forget raw, animal, sexual desires. Even dogs that have been neutered would display this sexual appetite as well. In this situation, an erection is clearly visible, as well as that twinkle of excitement in his eyes. Female dogs would do this as well to male dogs that are too slow. Men don’t be embarrassed, even dogs don’t pick up on cues quickly enough.
Anywho, some dogs use this as a means of masturbation. They would hump whatever object they find – pillow, stuffed toy – until they have a release. I bet you didn’t know they could do that. Moving on…
Should I Be Concerned About My Dog’s Humping?
Mounting is perfectly natural. Quite frankly, you should be concerned if your dog is never humped. There will always be a fair amount of play humping, either when your dog gets very excited with you or when it meets other dogs. This type of humping does not usually last long though and is no cause for alarm.
If your dog humps compulsively or as an anxiety coping mechanism, then you should try and deal with it.
There is also the theory that dogs hump as a means of displaying dominance. This has not been validated scientifically, yet many discourage mounting because of it. Just because a dog hump doesn’t mean it is trying to be the alpha dog or intimidate you. When dealing with a large dog, humping, in this case, could be dangerous, as they could be much stronger than you. Again, this has nothing to do with dominance and more likely one of the reasons listed above.
If you fear your dog has a medical condition such as allergies, you should take him to the vet immediately. This could be the case if your dog is constantly licking his genitals or humping everything, all the time. He could be doing this to pacify an irritation. Any form of compulsive humping is a sign that your dog has a physiological or psychological need.
How to Teach Your Dog to Stop Humping
As stated before, neutering your dog will not necessarily stop the behavior. What you would need to do is identify your dog’s particular reason for humping and deal with that.
If your dog falls under the first category, you are generally safe and you may not need to do anything. However, play humping could become dangerous if your dog does it with a much larger dog and the feeling isn’t mutual. Some dogs would react aggressively to being mounted. If this is a concern for you, pull your dog off when it starts humping another dog and let it sit quietly for a short time. This tells it that humping ends the play, though this would need to happen a number of times before it gets the message. My dog only plays humps on people it is familiar with and even that, not so often, so I let it slide.
Anxiety-related humping may not be how you want your dog to express himself. A good way to handle this is to get your dog out of uncomfortable situations. A dog would usually display anxious behavior before it begins humping. That would be a good time to take it away from the guests or any strange dog it meets. You can discover the cause of your dog’s anxiety by seeing an animal behaviorist.
In the case of attention-seeking humping, you need to show your dog some love. No, not that kind. Spend more time with him, playing, and exercising. A good run-around gets your dog feeling refreshed and appreciated. Play fetch, tug of war, or take him for a walk. Life can be overwhelming at times, but do try never to neglect your dog, or other behaviors could occur that are way worse than humping.
If your dog is humping for sexual reasons and you want him to breed, then you know what to do. If he isn’t quite ready to meet the ladies yet, then you could leave him and his stuffed rabbit to keep getting acquainted.
Check out these dog beds for separation anxiety
Let Dogs Be Dogs
Most humping is harmless. While it might be embarrassing for you or your guests, there is really nothing for you to interfere with or stop. You can decide to educate your guests about what you’ve learned from this post or you can keep him in his crate when visitors arrive. In either case, you should be proud of the dog you have and be grateful you don’t have a large cactus plant in your house.
I hope this post helps you with how to stop your dog from humping you.
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