Our three-year-old dog was spayed a year ago (after a litter of pups), but, and there is no easy way to say this, still constantly tries to hump our male dog! He is having none of it (bit of a wimp) and she is so dominant that he sometimes squeals where she grabs him so tight she hurts him! She is a very 'tough', robust girl with a happy, playful demeanor but sadly we constantly have to pull her off of him and stop her playing as she is hurting him. What can we do with our bully? In every other way the two dogs (same breed) get along well. What is happening with her hormones? We thought spaying would help correct this.
Paul Andrew, by email
First of all, humping isn't a dominance behaviour. It's generally used as either stress alleviation or play.
ReplyDeleteTo me it sounds like she's trying to "play" in a way your male isn't comfortable with but he doesn't have the balls to tell her when enough is enough.
As with any undesirable behaviour I'd use the mantra "Interrupt, Redirect, Reinforce". When she does it interrupt the behaviour (pull her off), redirect her attention to something else and reinforce that good behaviour with rewards. And make sure you also reward her when she chooses to play in an appropriate style over mounting.
As the above comment says it has been proved that dominanace in dogs is actually a myth. I would look at her stress levels as "humping" is indicative of stress.
ReplyDeleteAs I am a Bowen therapist as well as a behaviourist I would recommend some Bowen therapy for both of your dogs, it can be incredibly useful for problems and anxities, and can address stress issues. Also it is worth looking at trying to lower stress levels in other ways, for instance make sure that she is not over exercised. I know this sounds strange but being walked to much can cause over stimulation, and may not be doing her any favours;among other things to look for are her "social diary" perhaps she is wanting a slightly quieter life. You can make up for the "shortfall" by doing some mental stimulation with her, I am sure she will find this fun, (most dogs do) and you will get to know what activities she enjoys the most as you work with her.