My dogs back end suddenly starts humping, but he isn't humping anything. It's just like his back end is out of control

This more of a dominance issue than a sexual issue. Even a female will do it. She is trying to show others in the home who is the superior dog in the house.

There is nothing sexual about it and she is not trying to mate. The humping is saying - hey, take that! I'm the boss! - It's perfectly normal.

This will ease with time and as the hormones settle.

Rather than scold, I think that you should try to distract the humper. Use a favorite toy or special treat to distract her.

Let me know if you still have questions.

Is your dog spayed?
Is she over 12 years old?

Is this new behavior?

HiCustomer

Thanks for using JustAnswer.com, I'm Dr. Dan and I'll try to help you.

How long has this been going on?

Can he walk around?

Is he doing any crying?

Is he demonstrating any other symptoms?

Dr. Dan

Thanks for the information. If he is hunched up like that I suspect two possible problems. The first problem is arthritis. This can occur in the shoulders, hips, neck and spine. This will cause soreness when at rest but once he gets "warmed up" when exercising then the pain seems to go away and often (but not always) seems worse the hours or day after exercise. The second possibility is a problem with the discs between the bones of the back or neck. This can cause intermittent or constant pain and can make your pooches life miserable. Arthritis often can be easily diagnosed with an examination and an x-ray and sometimes the disc problem can also be identified on an x-ray. At minimum I would see your vet about this pain and he/she can prescribe something safer and more effective than the aspirin (since aspirin causes bleeding in most of the stomachs of dogs who take it). Remember to tell your vet about the aspirin as other medications don't "get along" with the aspirin. Finally it is possible but unlikely that the neuter played much of a role in this, I suspect the timing is coincidental.

I hope this helps, best wishes.

Dr. Dan

Hello,

The behavior you describe is not a sexual one, but more a behavior of asserting dominance. There is always a hierarchy in the household and especially as a young dog, it may not be clear to him. There can only be one alpha dog in the house and he probably is unsure if it supposed to be him or you. You are probably challenging his dominance (unconsciously) and he feels he needs to attempt to solidify who is "top dog" in the house. Do not allow the behavior and stop him when he does it. It may be beneficial to work with him on a few dog training exercises to have you exhibit dominance and reinforce your position with him.

I hope this makes sense and is helpful. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

As in most dog training, they repond better to being told to do something and being praised for it, than they do being told no.

When he is doing anything you want him to stop doing, give him a command, like "sit", "settle" or "stay". If he does not know these, you need to teach him and work with him to learn them. When he has the hang of them, go to a command to redirect him from an unwanted behavior and then you can postively reward him when he performs the command.

I an including a few client information sheets that may give you ideas to help with the training. I hope they help.

stay training

settling down your dog

Typically this is a dominance behavior showing that the dog believes he is higher in the pack ranking than you are.

One way around that is to work with your dog on the nothing in life is free program which you can read about here

http://www.paws.org/cas/resources/fact_sheets_dogs/nothingfree.php

Basic or puppy obedience classes would also be a good choice and www.apdt.com may list classes near you.

Hope this helps you!

Welcome to JustAnswer, this is Dr. Christie.

Is Ginger spayed?

Are there any new animals or people in the house?

Any new changes in schedule or environment?

Has this behavior recently increased in intensity?

Ah ha! I believe we found a reason or two why she is exhibiting this behavior.

Mounting behaviors occur due to sexual hormone influences, dominance behavior, anxiety, and sometimes as a sort of obsessive/compulsive disorder. Since you have only had her for a few days and EVERYTHING is new to her, most likely her behavior is due to anxiety or possibly dominance behavior. Animals respond in many different ways to stress and anxiety, sometimes in funny ways we would never think of!

So what to do? Continue to discourage this behavior. You may want to incorporate using commands (if she knows them -sit, stay, heel, lay down, etc; if not, now would be a good time to start) to distract her when this behavior starts. You may also want to use something to distract her, such as a small water squirt gun or a tin can with some pennies or bolts in it to rattle when the behavior starts. You may want to give her a time out, or 10-15 minutes alone (crate, small room, or outside) to let her calm down. Make sure to ignore her during this time. One last suggestion is using a gentle leader (a form of head collar that has a small strap going over the muzzle for head control). When she begins the behavior, tell her no, and gently pull her away from what she was doing. try to incorporate a different command such as sit or lay down to distract her. If she promptly responds and stops the behavior and does what you ask, reward her! Make sure to always reward good behavior!! This is the most influential on dogs.

Try to get a normal schedule and routine with her. I think this above all else will help with this behavior. Make sure she gets some 'you' time (a walk, play time, etc) so that she knows she is loved and happy. It may take a couple of weeks but I think she will begin to settle down and relax and the behavior will begin to subside.

If the behavior does not start to subside within 2-3 weeks, I would recommend a consultation with your vet. Certainly another reason includes hormonal imbalances (there are blood tests for this). Also it can be an obsessive compulsive behavior. If this is the case, I would recommend fluoxetine (Prozac rx) or clomipramine (Clomicalm rx) to modify this behavior.

Dr. Christie

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Dr. Christie

I would recommend having her spayed, especially if you have no intention of breeding her. This may help with the behavior and calm her hormones. Whether the behavior is from her being intact or the newness of everything is hard to separate. Only time will tell. There is no change to my answers from my previous answer.

Dr. Christie

Leon,

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He is showing his dominance by humping the other dog. In most casees, it won't be a problem if the other dog is a submissive dog. However, sooner or later, he is going to come across a dog that does not tolerate him humping and turns and attacks. So my recommendation would be to stop the behavior now especially if you have no plans on mating him in the future.

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You can teach him not to mount by keeping a leash on him and each time he goes to mount another dog, give a short tug on the leash, a firm "NO", and use the leash to keep him from doing so. After a week or so of corrections, you shoud see him not mount when he would have before, then reward him with a treat like a tasty hot dog slice. Don't use boring normal treats. Each time you think he isn't mounting when he would have before, reward him. At this point you should be able to take off the leash and a NO should be enough to stop him. After a little while you will notice that you never have to remind him.

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I'm going to give you a site that goes over body language so you have a better idea of what signals the dogs are telegraphing with their body.

http://www.pawsacrossamerica.com/interpret.html

http://www.apdt.com/petowners/park/body-language/

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I hope this information is helpful to you and you are satisfied with my response. If you would like any additional information or have more questions please don’t hesitate to press the reply to expert or continue conversation button so I can address any issues you still have .

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