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So Duke is now 10.5 months old and the other day he was standing with his back arched not moving. My dad thought he had hurt his back but as I got closer to him I realized he was just standing there humping the air. Since then he has done it several times. He doesn't hump people or my other dogs, or other things he just air humps (lol) Why on earth is he doing this? He was a shelter puppy and neutered at 8 weeks, if that makes any difference.
It is quite common. It doesn't make a difference that it is a shelter dog, I've had pure breeds do it and even female dogs do it. They also do it to each other as a dominance thing even tho they are of the same sex. Neutering will usually curb this behavior, but will still tend to happen from time to time.
I had one foster dog that was just humping and thumping everything - woke up to the thing humping my leg...several days after he was neutered it subsided, but he had the worst case of it I ever saw and there are trainers who suggest to nip it in the bud with some techniques when it comes to trying to hump people.
Dogs that are neutered still react to stimulus, he may be smelling a dog in the neighbor hood that is in heat. Correct him when you see him doing this so he does not form a habit. Now it is the air, next time it will be another dog or a person. He needs to know that this behavior is not allowed.
This is how dogs PLAY. It's not sex, it's PLAY. It's people who are uncomfortable with it, dogs don't care. It's PLAY. Neutering or spaying doesn't affect it. It's PLAY.
This is how dogs PLAY. It's not sex, it's PLAY. It's people who are uncomfortable with it, dogs don't care. It's PLAY. Neutering or spaying doesn't affect it. It's PLAY.
It is not always play. It is also a show of, and act of dominance. It is not a good habit to allow the dog to have as it can result in fights as the dog gets older.
Also, dogs that are neutered do still respond to stimulus. That is simply a fact that many people don't realize is the case until they become experienced dog owners. So yes, that could also be a reason for what OP's father witnessed. Not having witnessed the situation, all any of us can do is give OP information so OP can use it to make an informed determination of what could be going on with OP's dog.
This is how dogs PLAY. It's not sex, it's PLAY. It's people who are uncomfortable with it, dogs don't care. It's PLAY. Neutering or spaying doesn't affect it. It's PLAY.
He is not doing it to anything though just the air, standing all by himself
Sometimes mounting ("humping") another dog is a sign of dominance, but not always; this often-misunderstood gesture can also be used by a lower-ranking dog to try to demonstrate his allegiance with a higher-ranking animal. - wagontrain.org - body language
All I know is my dog HATES it. He does not hump other dogs - but the one time a female tried to hump him -he got into a huge fight. He definitely did not consider it to be playing!
*Note - as we know - Ringo is NOT the most happy go lucky dog in the world!
He is not doing it to anything though just the air, standing all by himself
Yes--I don't think he was playing by himself--maybe playing with himself. <sorry> I wonder if he smelled a certain scent that triggered something?
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Originally Posted by jj68
It is not always play. It is also a show of, and act of dominance. It is not a good habit to allow the dog to have as it can result in fights as the dog gets older.
Yes. IMHO play can be humping, but perhaps not all humping is play. I can see how play would lead to humping.
I see humping as a 'feel-good' mechanism for dogs, especially younger ones, or dogs that don't get a lot of exercise/stimulation and might be bored.
Our spayed female (2nd mastiff, spayed quite young) used to do it to our neutered larger male (1st mastiff) when she was younger. She was sort of testing him, maybe it felt good, too? I rarely intervened.
He ignored her and/or shrugged her off. Sometimes he just sat down.
Then they would get back to whatever it was they were doing. It did not seem to trouble their relationship very much.
But if another male dog tried humping with my male, he definitely nipped that in the bud right away. He never got into a fight, but he whirled around, made a bit of noise, and that was the end of it.
Beau, our 1 year old, humped for the first time last weekend when he met an extremely submissive 4 month old neutered Great Dane mix male puppy. He played with the other dogs, but this poor puppy was so folded into himself that Beau could not see him as anything but a sort of sex object.
Quote:
Also, dogs that are neutered do still respond to stimulus. .
Yes.
There are all kinds of smells out there that we humans will never know.
And maybe humping is kind of a stress release for a dog.
So if I start air humping near my dog, I'll gain the upper hand?
My friend's dog was a major humper. Then they got him neutered and now he still humps. Now he bites while humping. Guess he got mad they took his nads away.
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I wonder if he smelled a certain scent that triggered something?
