Humping in dogs. Its not what you think...

two dogs playing

There are so many misconceptions in the dog world about dogs who hump and its really time people educate themselves on this issue.

If its 'hormonal' its male to female. I can GUARANTEE you it is not 'dominance'.

As with the human race when it comes to hormones, the main thing there is they're there to aid procreation (making babies). So a male dog humping another male dog, isn't hormonal. While hormones can be running high, it will be down to a whole other range of issues which i will explain. A male dog who is humping another male dog could be over excited, nervous, anxious, overwhelmed.

Dominance in dogs was debunked quite a long time ago. Dogs nowadays dont generally live in packs, unless you're someone who lives with a lot of dogs. While amongst a household full of dogs we may see a hierachy in the pack, in dogs who pass by in the street or meet in the field dominance isn't something that takes place here. Dogs can reprimand eachother if one of them over steps their boundaries, and tell them what is and isn't appropriate, but this isn't dominance.

So many people will go back and talk about how wolves work, but so many people are misinformed. In a wolf pack, what people always thought were the alpha male and female are actually the breeding pair. They are the only two wolves within the pack who will breed. They are also the two who protect and over see the pack. They ensure the young and the elderly eat. The young males will eventually go off to form their own pack, and 'fight' to become the alpha male OR the breeding male. It is very rare that two wolf packs cross over their territory, and should any fights ensue this will be to fight for survival.

In our domesticated dogs, generally what we actually end up seeing is dogs who are more confident and dogs who are more cautious. Within a family of dogs you will have the ones who aren't scared of a thing and generally take on more. Or the dogs who sit back and let the rest get on with it because their fight or flight system is telling them to sit back and let others take charge. Fighting over food isn't dominance, its a case of resource guarding, dogs feeling the need to fight for their food. Fight over a resource.

Going back to our original point, a lot of people dont realise that actually humping can be a coping mechanism for dogs. A way to relieve themselves of an overwhelm of feelings which they actually dont know how to handle. What we need to do is assess the situation that the dog is in, and take note. Have you taken your dog to a play group with them having never been in a big group of dogs before? They may be over excited or even anxious about the situation.

Take your time to assess and reflect. It may be that you need to remove your dog from the situation to help their emotional levels to return to a more appropriate height.