# Excessive Humping



## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

I think that any humping is inappropriate and excessive but I have never seen anythink like my little foster mini George.

When I first brought him home the poor little guy could literally not walk more than two or three feet without lifting his leg and marking. And he was incredibly obsessed with smelling the privates of both Hoot and Jackson. But his incessant humping of Jackson is where the biggest problem lies.

I have pretty much stopped all marking in the house and almost everywhere outside that's inappropriate. And he's still a little interested in Hoot but generally leaves him alone.

But poor Jackson. The first day or two he took it patiently. Then he started growling. Now he's barking and snapping in George's face. 

I have peeled George off of Jackson's back leg and he comes away like a silk scarf attached with static electricity. As soon as I let go, he's instantly attached again. I am using a spray bottle of water and we have spent 40 minutes every morning and 40 minutes every night getting drenched. The spray bottle works but he's so obsessed that within seconds he's moving back into position. And because he hates the water spray, he'll stand as close as I'll let him and just whine.

Sometimes he'll get it through his head and be just fine and then Jackson will play with him but once he starts that 'private's sniffing' he becomes single-minded and we go through the wet-head routine for another 30 or 40 minutes.

Any suggestions? He did get nuetered last Thursday.


----------



## cbrand (Aug 9, 2009)

Neutering should fix this problem, but itt can take a few weeks for the hormones to leave his system, so you may still see this behavior for a while.

I think you are on the right track. Keeping this guy leashed all the time will help because you can correct him the minute he starts. If the behavior doesn't stop, you might consider using an e-collar on him.


----------



## plumcrazy (Sep 11, 2009)

I wonder if his behavior could've contributed to him being abandoned? Maybe his previous owners didn't want to/didn't know how to deal with that... Just a thought! I like cbrand's suggestion of keeping him tethered - it's the surest way that you won't miss an opportunity to correct his inappropriate behavior. Good luck and stay consistent!


----------



## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

Is an e-collar an electric collar? He had the cone from his nueter and that didn't slow him down one bit. He's so tiny I cannot imagine using a shock collar and I would still have to monitor him every moment to deliver the shock at the appropriate time. 

I am hoping that the nuetering will help but it seems more like obsessive-compulsive behaviour than hormonal or even dominance issues. He gets a squirt of water every time he gets his nose too close to the backend or belly area and the second he starts to lift his two front feet off the ground while next to Jackson.

What's a little funny is that Jackson is now loving the squirt bottle. And he now knows that George's behavior is unacceptable. Last night George thought he might give Hoot a really good sniff around the head and put his front feet on Hoots' neck...no humping involved. Jackson immediately ran over and pushed George over with his nose. And when George stood up to try for another whiff of ear, Jackson pushed him over again!


----------



## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

My guess is the constant marking is what likely was the last straw. When he came to my house he literally marked every three steps, inside and out. The lady that rescued him from the streets kept him in her garage because she couldn't put him down for more than a couple of seconds inside her house without him lifting his leg. Fortunately, that problem is almost completely resolved.


----------



## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

Have you tried a time out type thing? The second he starts to make a move to hump, a correction (ah ah or whatever), then remove him somewhere away from everybody for a couple of minutes. Then allow him back in, same thing if/ when he starts again. Just don't remove him to his crate, as you want that to be a positive place for him.


----------



## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

Yes, I am doing time outs just because I would otherwise be doing nothing but squirting his little head. At the moment he's not allowed past the kitchen and he has learned that boundary. He'll lay across the line and whine while staring longingly at Jackson's back leg. Sometimes I do get so frustrated that I lock him up in his crate. I'll quit doing that.


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Well, humping is a dominant behavior and this is why Jackson has hit the end of his rope with it. Of course so is the marking. He's a dominat little bugger isn't he? I like cbrand's suggestion because honestly who has the time to correct a dog every 5 seconds? You'd never be able to leave his side. I'd keep him leashed next to you at all times. He's got to learn that he's not in charge and you being in charge of his movements helps.


----------



## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

puppylove said:


> I'll quit doing that.


Well, if it's a choice between your sanity and his crate, I'd put him in there.  Just not in a forceful way or too often.

There is the possibility this is not hormonal or dominance and is instead some sort of OCD behaviour. Unfortunately you'll just have to wait and see if the neutering helps him to calm down! If not, it's possible it's something more.

There's some good advice on this link (from fellow foster moms): http://forum.americanbrittanyrescue.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4006&start=0


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

But he's also marking. If it was just the humping and he wasn't displaying other territorial behaviors I'd think OCD might be the issue but he's doing all of the territorial marking. 

How is he with other things like food? Is he territorial of food or toys or treats like bones? You might test him on those things to see what his responses are.


----------



## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

No, he is no longer marking. I believe that also was OCD-type behaviour. It only took a couple of corrections to break him of that (less than two hours actually). I pretty much trust him in the house as long as I know he's really finished with his business outside. He is not territorial of food, treats, toys, affection. 

It just doesn't seem like a dominance issue to me but just nervous behaviour. Does being separated from mom too early contribute? Whenever Jackson lays down, George wants to crawl right into the belly area. I know he's sniffing/licking where he shouldn't be and wonder if maybe he thinks there's milk down there. Except for the extreme difference in size they look just alike.


----------



## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

I missed how old he was. This is from my own experience, but out of all my dogs that were fixed early Coco he does not hump. - Aoki my female trys to ride Suri's leg every now and then and Suri trys to get Olie - it does not happen often but when Suri came along she had just been fixed and that started Aoki back up lol. 

Also I was watching youtube the other night and was shocked at the videos shown where dogs were humping their owners or a humans leg as if it was a joke. So you never know. 

But as much as people do not want to hear about dominance (these are dogs) - this is what I have read most times it is (from many training guides) when a dog does this and then if done often its because they were not corrected. This is a new dog and they will try anything to get a position in the house, I just went through it. The last thing might also be anxiety or nerves....not sure what his past situation was but that surely effects the dogs.


----------



## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

We're not exactly sure how old he is. His teeth are white and not worn but not puppy sharp either. He lost his last baby took two days ago. Is that any indication?


----------



## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

The nerves could just be from being in a new situation with a new human and other dogs. Depending on what his old situation was like, this could be a complete switch. Plus he just got neutered, which is probably another shock to the system!

I personally think this type of excessive humping you describe is due to something other than dominance. Humping does release a calming effect on the dog. So humping may make him feel better from his nervous situation. Of course, it could also be humping due to dominance. After all, humping is an expression of dominance as well. I just think due to his individual situation and how you've described him, this is being driven by a nervous disposition. It may calm down once he settles into the house more.

This links interesting on compulsive behaviours (it talks about humping about halfway down): http://www.caninemind.co.uk/compulsive.html


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

From what I read humping another dog puts that dog above the other. It could be sexual or it could be dominance behavior. If he was doing this to say toys and other things I'd look to OCD but if he's not, he's doing it because he's new in the pack and he's pushing his way in. The fact that he was marking is a big clue on why he's exhibiting this behavior. If it was humping without marking it could just be a sexual thing but I don't think so. I've read conflicting things. If you don't like it step in the middle but then I read that you should let them work this out for themselves. Someone has to be dominate between them and if they don't figure out who that is, it's stressful for them.


----------



## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

Thanks Cd, these are great links. It may be simple dominance but it really seems more of a nervous coping mechanism to me. No telling what his previous situation was like. We'll keep working on it and see what happens after his hormones level off. Poor little guy will just have to live with a wet head for a little while longer. I know I can break him of this. He's very smart and a pretty quick learner and I am patient and determined.


----------



## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

I thought he wasn't neutered yet? If he was then it will stop in time, but you seem to be doing everything right. 


From petplace.com : 

Although humping is considered a sexual action, it can also be used to signal power and rank. Dogs do, in effect, employ humping as a way of asserting authority. Whatever the motivation, when humping is directed toward peoples' legs, or objects in the environment, the result is the same: embarrassment for the dog owner and any guests who happen to be present.

Intact (unneutered) male dogs are most likely to engage in this disturbing behavior but neutered males and females may also express the behavior. The presence of sex hormones facilitates but does not dictate this annoying behavior. One out of three neutered male dogs and the occasional neutered female still engage in humping years after neuter surgery. Even when it's slated to disappear, humping may persist for several months after surgery before its frequency and intensity eventually wanes.


----------



## puppylove (Aug 9, 2009)

A little update on my humping maniac. He's recovered from his nueter surgery and is now starting to squat-pee. He still marks the trees and bushes occasionally but seems much less interested in getting his scent everywhere. 

I took him to an adoption fair on Sunday. As we were setting up he got put into an X-pen with another mini. He was just fine, a little sniffing but he never tried to hump once. Then a beautiful 2-year-old standard arrived and got put into the same pen. Within seconds George was attached to that back leg! I'm sure he has small-man syndrome!

At home he finally got tired of the wethead and decided to focus more attention on Hoot. Up until then they played together so sweetly. Hoot has never taken to being humped on. There were a few very forceful warnings and then one evening when I wasn't looking, there was a very loud annoyed bark and a very scared high-pitched yelp and George came flying into my arms. 

So now it's back to getting a sneak-hump on Jackson's back leg again! He's so much better than he was two weeks ago but sometimes he just forgets in his excitement. 

Now it mostly happens when the two big boys are rough-housing. George tried getting in on that once or twice but found it was too rough for him. So what he does is let them really get into it and then attach himself to that back leg while no one's paying any attention. I no longer have to use the spray bottle, I yell out his name and he immediately runs out of the room!

Maybe he'll never get over it completely but at least I can stop him with just a reprimand. I'm still hoping that he's got raging hormones that haven't worked through his system yet.


----------



## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

It sounds mainly like an excitement thing that he reverts to. Im glad he is getting better and im sure that warning from Hoot helped! 
Riley does Not tollerate being humped and makes it Very clear to other dogs who only try it once on him. However, he Loves to be the humper! When were at the dog park if he picks out a dog that he likes to do this with i have to constaintly be on top on him to stop him. He will do it forever, and most of the dogs he picks are the more submissive ones who wont tell him off (he will do it equally to males/females so is a dominance thing to him). He doesnt do it every time we go there though. Its just some dogs, and he doesnt do it to his "personal friends" that we visit.


----------

