It quickly becomes embarrassing when your puppy is mounting and humping other dogs, people or objects. This behavior is especially surprising to pet owners when it occurs in a spayed or neutered dog. Humping can be excessive and inappropriate, in which case consulting with your VCA care team is recommended, but for many dogs (altered or intact), humping is a perfectly natural behavior.
Let’s review some of the reasons your young dog may be mounting people, pets or objects.
Sexual behavior
Let’s get this one out of the way first! It’s true that some altered dogs, both male and female, will continue to mount and hump as a form of masturbation. This behavior is more common in dogs who were altered later in life and discovered that the sensation was pleasurable before getting spayed or neutered. Humping behaviors can be difficult to stop, so pet owners may have more success redirecting the pet to an acceptable outlet, such as a specific toy. Humping doesn’t usually indicate that something went wrong with the spay or neuter procedure, though your VCA care team is happy to ensure that everything went according to plan if you’re concerned.
Mounting as a play behavior
Some dogs mount other pets and people when playing, particularly if they are high-arousal dogs. They simply get overexcited and begin to mount their playmates. As long as the dog being mounted is familiar and isn’t offended by the behavior, you may not need to intervene. However, some dogs may not take too well to being mounted and/or humped, so it can result in altercations with unfamiliar dogs. If your dog is mounting people during play, it’s best to redirect them to avoid injury or embarrassment to people.
Humping due to stress, excitement or anxiety
Some dogs respond to stressful or exciting stimuli by mounting. Dogs in this category may respond well to increased environmental enrichment, anxiety medications, anxiety supplements and pheromone treatments.
Other causes of humping in young dogs
Although you may have heard that dogs mount to display dominance, this isn’t considered a common reason for dogs to mount people or pets. Rarely, some dogs may develop an obsessive-compulsive desire to mount and/or hump. These dogs will require behavioral intervention.
If you’re still concerned that your young dog may have a complication from their spay or neuter procedure, contact your VCA care team to get your puppy evaluated. Signs to watch for in young female dogs would include bleeding from the vulva, swelling of the vulva, mammary enlargement and attraction of intact male dogs. Signs to watch for in males would be looking for mates, interest in intact females and excessive marking.
Find out more about how to deal with undesirable behaviors in young dogs.
