There is a common delusion about dog humping. Most people are of the notion that only male dogs hump. However, female dogs also partake in humping, and as awkward as this seems, it is totally normal. There are different terms for humping, some prefer to call it mounting, and others call it thrusting. Either way, it is a natural behavior that is common in both male and female dogs.
Humping is a learned activity; dogs often engaged in the act before they attain sexual maturity. Dogs express their desires, stress, or playfulness via humping, licking the genital area, and other means. Furthermore, this act may also indicate behavioral issues that need to be addressed.
In this article, we will be going over specific reasons why female dogs hump.
Why Do Female Dogs Hump?
Here are some reasons why you might find your female dog humping:
Medical or Behavioral Issues
If you observe that your female dog humps at almost everything frequently, it may be a symptom of a more significant medical problem. The female dog might have a urinary tract infection, and this results in difficulty urinating, hence causing pains in her urinary tract. The only way she can soothe herself is by humping.
Another probable reason your dog humps is if she’s spent a considerable amount of time in an abusive home or shelter resident. In this instance, your female dog’s way of responding to the poor socialization is by humping. If that’s the case, your female dog’s humping at a new visitor can be corrected by a dog trainer.
Consulting a veterinary doctor is the best way of handling a medical issue.
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Excitement
Humping in dogs can also be engendered by excitement. When female dogs become too excited, they have a tendency to exhibit humping behavior. Your female dog might get overstimulated in places like a dog park or doggie daycare. This stimulation leads to a build-up of energy, and this excess energy is sometimes relieved via humping.
Dogs can hump in different environments, and the reason dogs hump varies. Your female dog can be stimulated during their play sessions, as a result, she starts to mount other dogs or hump your leg. This implies that humping is a non-specific arousal response. If your female dog humps frequently, it might be difficult to break.
Frustration and Stress
Like you and I, dogs also exhibit different behaviors in response to stress. Some dogs hide, some dogs lick themselves persistently, and some dogs choose to hump. Dogs can be stressed out during training sessions and start to hump in order to ease their stress. Even though humping is a normal activity, you should be concerned when it becomes a compulsive behavior.
If your female dog’s humping behavior starts to cause problems for other dogs, the best way of dealing with this is to redirect that behavior, either via preventive measures or obedience training. You can also enroll the dog in group socialization training, time-outs, or one-on-one training with a pro.
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To Express Dominance
Another bizarre reason your female dog humps is to show dominance, either over a person, a thing, or another dog. When a female dog humps a thing, she has a feeling she’s the boss over that thing, or she has a higher ranking than the other dog. However, your female dog’s motive for humping depends solely on her emotional condition when the stimulus sets in.
This is why you must observe your female dog’s humping habit. If it seems to be for dominance, either on humans or other dogs, you should try to break it immediately. Your dog has to respect all humans and see them as the dominant being at all times. Therefore, if your dog is acting out of proper behavior, either by humping a particular family member, you have to enforce behavioral modifications.
Humping Creates Sexual Stimulation
This is basically what’s on every dog owner’s mind: humping and sexual stimulation. Most of the time, female dogs hump because they derive pleasure from it. This can be likened to the behavior of male dogs, however, humping is an act that is seen in both sexes. When a female dog is on heat, her behavior can be sexually wild, this causes her to hump another dog or something.
When a female dog is in heat, she exhibits several sexual behaviors. Your female dog derives sexual satisfaction from humping, however, humping doesn’t imply sexual stimulation all the time.
She Wants Your Attention
Perhaps you’re a person who yells or laughs at their dogs when they hump your leg, this means anytime they hump your leg, they have your attention. If your female dog notices this method of getting your attention, they do it frequently. Obviously, it’s almost impossible to ignore your female dog when she’s humping you.
Moreover, if you push your dogs away or wrestle with them whenever they hump you, your dogs may decode this as playtime. So whenever they want to play with you, they hump you.
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She is Addicted to Humping
Similar to any other reason why one becomes addicted to a particular thing, dogs can become addicted to humping because it gives them a feeling of pleasure. The thing about pleasure is it leaves you coming back for more. Hence, once your female dog discovers she derives pleasure from humping, she does it over and over again. With time, if the habit isn’t checked, it becomes an addiction.
When your female dog becomes addicted to humping, spaying might be a helpful method of mitigating it. Spaying is the surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus of a dog. Spaying doesn’t end the addiction, but it can minimize the craving. With fewer hormones to deal with, rehabilitating your female dog becomes relatively easy.
How to Stop Your Female Dog from Humping?
Although humping is normal in the canine world, excessive humping must be regulated. Here are a few tips on how to stop your female dog from humping:
Humping People
If your female dog humps you, simply shun her and move away from her. If you’d like your female dog to stop humping other people, don’t yell at her anytime she does. Simply grab her and gently take her to a separate room or her crate. If you’re aware of your dog’s habit of humping visitors, put your dog in a different room before the visitors arrive.
If you observe that your female dog humps only a particular person, this might imply that the dog is directly challenging the person for a ranking position. To get rid of this behavior, this person should be the only one to feed the dog for about one or two months. Sooner or later, the dog will realize that her feeding depends solely on the person, and this will end her challenging behavior.
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Humping Other Dogs
If you intend to stop your dog from humping other dogs, always separate the two dogs. Their playtime must be under strict supervision too. Even though your dog enjoys humping, some dogs do not enjoy it. So if you’re at the dog park, make sure your dog doesn’t hump other dogs to avoid conflicts.
Humping Inanimate Objects
On the other hand, your dog might be fond of humping inanimate objects, even her dog bed. The only way of curbing this is by restricting your dog’s access to those inanimate objects. If your female dog humps objects, it’s probably because she has anxiety issues. Therefore, you need to keep her busy, keep her entertained.
Come up with a schedule that keeps them relaxed and engaged at all times. Take her outdoors to play fetch with dog toys. That way, they may be too busy or tired to hump frequently.
The Positive Reinforcement Method
Humping in dogs can be stopped through the positive reinforcement method. Positive reinforcement is an effective way to train your dog not to hump. When you notice any humping behavior from your dog, redirect them by uttering commands for them to carry out. Commands such as ” lie down,” “sit down,” “off,” etc., might be effective.
Whenever your dog performs these commands instead of humping, you can reward her with a dog treat. Additionally, you can redirect her energy into something more lively such as taking a walk or going outside to play a game with her. However, if your dog finds it hard to stop humping because it has become a compulsive behavior, you may want to take her to the veterinary doctor.
In the long run, you might succeed in breaking your dog’s humping habit. Nevertheless, some dogs won’t drop the act easily. Peradventure, your dog, is among those that find it hard to stop humping, you should seek the help of a professional dog trainer.
Alternatively, you can decide to accept your dog and her humping behavior. But you should avoid instances where humping generates a problem. This requires knowing your dog’s humping routine and endeavoring to prevent it whenever possible. This is vital when humping may lead to human injuries or dogfight.
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Conclusion
Even though it looks strange when female dogs do it, humping is a normal dog behavior. However, it can develop into a habit that’s hard for dogs to stop. An efficient method of ending the humping behavior is by distracting your dog and channeling her energy into something more productive.
The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Ravena July
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