Male dog humping when out walking

[Josie]

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I have just started walking a lovely golden Labrador called Django. His owners have made me aware that he gets excited when meeting other dogs and will hump them. He has been neutered.

I witnessed this myself today. As a dog approached I noticed that Django got very excited and when he ran over to the dog he began to try and hump her straight away (No introductions first either!!). I obviously got him on the lead straight away and removed him from the situation.

I just wondered if anyone had any good advice on how I (and his owners) can try and stop this behaviour? He is gold as gold otherwise and it would be a shame for him to have to stay on the lead or try to avoid other dogs constantly.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[JoanneF]

Really just the usual advice about keeping enough of a distance, cueing an alternative and incompatible behavior like a sit, and rewarding that; probably with the lead on at that point in the walk for safety - I'm pretty sure the other dogs and their owners wouldn't appreciate humping behaviour.

The owners would ideally be following the same protocol.

This is a Victoria Stillwell article on the subject - Why Does My Dog Hump Everything?

 

[Josie]

Thanks Joanne.

We passed another dog and at that point I had him on his lead and got him into a sit position and to look at me. He did very well and you could see how pleased he was when I praised him.

Article is really interesting so thank you. It’s tough because I don’t feel I have the authority to ask about stress levels at home etc.

They have got a young child so maybe this has stressed him.

I think he only humps when he’s out!

 

[JoanneF]

It might not be stress of course, it could just be sheer excitement at seeing another dog. If it mainly happens in these circumstances that is probably more likely.

 

[leashedForLife]

.

some dogs "fall back" on hump-when-excited 'cuz they literally don't know what else to do -
they're highly excited, & humping is a way to bleed it off, like grounding a static-charge.

others have cr*p greeting skills & no manners - they're aroused by meeting a new dog, but have NO idea how to interact with this stranger or introduce themselves, so "hump" is their go-to solution. It's not a threatening behavior, but it IS restraint of the other dog, who can understandably be very startled & resent being held / pinned in place.
It's easy to start a fight when one dog is madly humping, the other is held tightly, & they're strangers to one another.

When any habitual-humper meets a new dog, I would STAND ON his leash so that he cannot get his forefeet off the ground to mount. He'd have just-enuf leash to stand, no more - if he wants to SIT, he'll have to lower his head / shoulders to get his butt to the ground.
Having him butt-on to the strange dog would also lower tension - they could sniff his bum, there's no face-to-face fraught moment.

get the intro over quickly, 5-secs is plenty, & move to side-on parallel movement - no T-position, no right-angles.
Allowing a humper to stand-over another dog in T-pose is very, very risky - hanging one's head over another dog's shoulders, or PAWS on another dog's shoulders, are threatening, pushy, extremely-rude behaviors.
Side-on displays are non-threatening, appeasing, calming, & give the most info to another dog looking at them.

FOLLOW-ME WALKS are especially good for fraught intros: the 2 k9 strangers take turns, each dog with a dedicated handler; one dog & handler start a walk, the 2nd follows at a distance where neither dog is worried, excited, or reactive.
The dog ahead doesn't balk, try to look over their shoulder, etc; the dog behind isn't forging to "get at" or "get to" the dog ahead, & neither dog is barking, hackled, tail up / stiff body, tail down / shrinking body.
After a walk of about 10-mins, turn around & go back to the start, with the former follower now ahead. Once U get back to the start point, the handlers & dogs separate & stand quietly - let the dogs sniff the ground, lie down, sit & pant, etc. Watch them for any hard-eyed glances with mouth closed, stiff movement, high rigid tails, etc; U want relaxed bodies, open mouths, waggy or neutral tails, open expressions.
If all signs are go, the handlers approach one another, the dogs move with them, & they meet - BRIEFLY. Ppl always draw this out; 5-secs of sniffing is plenty, move away, take a break, how are they doing?...

A follow-me walk is especially good for introducing a new dog to a resident dog - they meet virtually B4 they meet in the flesh; they sniff each other's footsteps, feces, urine, see one another at a safe non-reactive distance, they know that the other dog is M, F, old / young, intact / desexed, healthy / not well, plus they get a chance to calm down & get over the initial intensity B4 actually getting within arm's reach.
Much less stressful & far-less likely to provoke bad interactions, which produce bad feelings. :thumbs-up:

- terry

.

 

[Josie]

Thanks @leashedForLife - will try these different techniques.

It’s tough because I only have him for his hour walk twice a week but will see what I can do!

 

[arealhuman]

Whatever happened to a meal out and perhaps a movie before all this? Sorry, no use, I hope the above actually does help though

 

[JoanneF]

A meal out and perhaps a movie - just how cheap do you think we are? I am thinking flowers, five piece bands, probably diamonds ...

 

[Josie]

I think in this case it may be more along the lines of.....

Fox poo perfume on arrival, followed by a varied meal at one of the local Biffa bins and maybe a butt sniff if they’re lucky at the end of the date

 

[arealhuman]

I think in this case it may be more along the lines of.....

Fox poo perfume on arrival, followed by a varied meal at one of the local Biffa bins and maybe a butt sniff if they’re lucky at the end of the date

Sounds like a good night out!

 

[Flobo]

I know it's a hard one when you only walk a dog once or twice a week and you are not employed as a trainer/behaviourist! What I do is try and make the time I have with each dog work for us( as in our walk will be as enjoyable as poss for both of us) and it will probably take weeks, if not months, but he will learn how to be with you, and he is a lab so with which ever method you choose treats will help!! My un neutered dog I walk kept doing the same and kept getting told off by the other dog and removed from situation by me, but he just learnt to woo the ladies instead, say hello, have a nuzzle, lick an ear, sure you get the picture! Thankfully his fancy of choice was generally whippet or lurcher so even though they didn't mind the 'loving' attention he could never catch them!! I always let the owner know how I am working with their dog and how it is going and then it's up to them...

 

[Josie]

I know it's a hard one when you only walk a dog once or twice a week and you are not employed as a trainer/behaviourist! What I do is try and make the time I have with each dog work for us( as in our walk will be as enjoyable as poss for both of us) and it will probably take weeks, if not months, but he will learn how to be with you, and he is a lab so with which ever method you choose treats will help!! My un neutered dog I walk kept doing the same and kept getting told off by the other dog and removed from situation by me, but he just learnt to woo the ladies instead, say hello, have a nuzzle, lick an ear, sure you get the picture! Thankfully his fancy of choice was generally whippet or lurcher so even though they didn't mind the 'loving' attention he could never catch them!! I always let the owner know how I am working with their dog and how it is going and then it's up to them...

He did really well today. I introduced him to Dennis and on the whole he was very good. I noticed that he was heading towards humping Dennis every time we stopped for a period of time (when a man started talking to me, water break) and when they were walking side by side he was constantly looking at Dennis. Does this mean anything? (Maybe he’s in love!)

I kept him on the lead when we passed other dogs and got him to sit and watch me as they passed and he was amazing at this. He did so well and you can see how happy he is to receive praise.

I also told the owner what I had done.

Dennis keeping his distance!