Why does my dog do that? Weird dog behaviors explained

Why does my dog mount or hump other dogs, objects, or even people?

Often accompanied by giggling, pointing and sheer embarrassment is the act of a dog humping your leg, or your pillow, or a friend… Contrary to popular belief, your dog’s humping is not usually sexual in nature. If that were true, the humping would stop when a dog is neutered and no female dogs would partake in the activity!

Humping is actually a natural way for dogs to respond to over-excitement, over-stimulation, or anxiety. Or, in some cases, a humping dog is merely playing. You’ll notice while watching dogs that they often play fight, or play stalk, chase, and even play bite, so is it so unreasonable that they might play in this manner, too?

So, how do you stop this behavior? First, ignore the behavior as much as you can. Getting excited, laughing, or well, freaking out, tells your dog that he’ll get some attention if he does it, thereby reinforcing the behavior. Second, give him (or her) an alternative activity. If you notice that humping happens when your dog is overly excited, give him something calm to do, like chew on a bully stick, a stuffed Kong toy, or play with a puzzle game. If he’s an anxious humper, remove him from the anxious situation and allow him time to relax and feel comfortable. Most importantly, just remember your dog is just doing what dogs do!

Up next, a REALLY common complaint of pet parents: Coprophagia… more commonly known as poop eating. Click NEXT for an explanation!

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