Most owners of male dogs (and some females) have probably felt the wave of embarrassment that comes over you when your dog starts humping!

Some dogs hump people's legs, some hump cushions, some hump other dogs and some will even hump nothing at all (which always looks hilariously ridiculous!). But what's it all about?

Most people assume that it is related to 'dominance' (especially when directed at other dogs) but, aside from the fact that dominance is often misunderstood, to put all humping behaviour down to that motivation is simply not accurate.

So, why do dogs hump? There are many possible reasons:

• (Non-sexual) Arousal: When dogs get very excited they can display a variety of odd behaviour: the 'zoomies', barking and humping can all be down to high levels of arousal.

• Anxiety: Anxiety can lead to increased arousal (see above) and dogs which are anxious can also display 'displacement behaviours' such as scratching, sniffing, digging and (you guessed it...) humping.

• Play: Play increases arousal levels (see above) but also humping can be used as a means to encourage or initiate play. It's generally a fairly immature way of trying to engage with another dog but, because it often gets a reaction (although not always a positive one!), it can be reinforced.

• Attention seeking: Some dogs have learned that humping is a sure-fire way to get attention from people. If we ignore the dog when they are lying quietly and then leap up, laugh or try to grab them the moment they start humping, you can see how this can quickly become a learned behaviour.

• Hormonal changes: An adolescent male has a peak in testosterone which can lead to all sorts of fun and games, including humping! When the testosterone level settles in adulthood, the humping then tends to stop (unless it has been repeatedly practised and reinforced in some way).

• Frustration: If another dog doesn't want to play or a young dog is just not sure what to do with themselves, humping may well occur.

• Status: Some dogs may use humping to assert themselves over another dog but this is actually one of the less common reasons for the behaviour, despite it being the most often-cited.

• Fun: If it feels good, dogs will do it!

Once we can work out why a dog is humping, we can then determine the best way to deal with it. For example, there's no point castrating a male dog in an effort to reduce their humpy behaviour if the behaviour (in their particular case) is not hormonally influenced. Not only will it not help but, depending on the actual motivation for the behaviour, it could get worse. In other cases, castration is a very effective solution to humping behaviour but both the behavioural and clinical sides need to be considered, in consultation with your vet. Of course, sometimes, it might well be that the humping behaviour is not actually a problem at all and nothing needs to be done or simple redirection techniques are all that is required.

So, if you have a humpy dog, try to play detective and work out why they are doing it so that you can determine the best solution in your case.

I hope this helps!

If you do want more advice from a professional dog trainer then get in touch below

Claire x