3+ yr old starting to hump again!!

[JenDeHoet]

Okay, so ever since I've had my dog neutered he hasn't had any humping issues but recently (he turned 3 in Jan) he has started it up again. There is a certain pillow and 2 blankets in the house that if they get left out .... guaranteed he humps them. Than on a few play dates at a friends house (they have 3 dogs; 2 F, 1 M) he keeps trying to hump the male of the group! Super frustrating that this is starting again. Is there a reason why he is starting this up again now? Ways I can successfully to stop this that have worked for others? Thanks for any help!!

[barry581]

I've got one year old male who will hump my 3 year old spayed female. When it first started, I'd touch him and tell him "no hump" which would stop him. For maybe a minute. Now a couple months later I can usually just look at him and tell him "no hump" and he will stop. We maybe have to do once more, but he won't do it further.

[Snowshoe]

I've never had to train a dog to not hump inappropriate things so take as you will. To my mind some inanimate objects are not inappropriate so when my 9 week old puppy humped pillows and blankets I bought his own humpee toy, a big teddy bear. Poppa Bear was bigger than him at the time. We encouraged Oban to hump Poppa and he has never humped anything else. And he is intact. When company comes we can hide Poppa. Some folks do use a substitute object to help direct humping towards something that won't take offense and bite the dog or put it at risk from the other dog's owner. Then you can wean off that object or let it be, your choice.

[Berna]

How much exercise does he get? Sounds to me like he is bored.

[JenDeHoet]

How much exercise does he get? Sounds to me like he is bored.

Not much during the winter, but now that it is nice out we take him for runs everyday and puppy park on weekend.

If it was a case of boredom I feel like he would have been doing this in past winters as well when he is stuck inside more. Or more than just having started a month or 2 ago.

As crazy as it sound, the past 2 months having him hump random household items is the first time he's humped anything since I had him neutered at 6 months old, and he isn't humping everything it is LITERALLY, 1 pillow and 2 specific blankets that he does it to. So not sure if he is trying to show dominance over the items that the boyfriend and I always use when we lounge around?

[ZoeysMommy]

Humping isnt about dominance alot of the time. My 6 year old female is a humper and she does it out of excitement. She humps pillows, blankets, small children and me. Never other dogs thank goodness

While it is an undesirable dog trait, it is natural and common. Redirect and correct him. I wouldnt concern myself with the pillows or blankets unless it bothers you. You do need to immediately correct him when he humps another dog, some dogs do not appreciate it and it can escalate into a fight

[emma_Dad]

Usually when a behavior comes out a normal, first thing Is to get a vet check up. To make sure it's nothing health related, UTI, itchy skin, etc....

If nothing wrong health wise its humping is totally normal. It's usually cause by to much excitement, or boredom. I would redirect to more appropriate behavior

[swanska]

Shadow humps to get the other dogs to play or chase. His weekend morning crew is a gang of permissible humpers/humpies. They know each other and we, the owners understand the activity. We also keep it to a one-on-one activity (unless the Jack Russell decides to join in and make it a threesome).

But, we watch for newcomers and I especially watch for his 'type': the Yellow Lab. I go on alert and begin watching for this particular glint in his eye and say "no hump". After several reminders, he usually behaves. If the other owner says, "Don't worry" and it there is no hostility between them -- just fun and games...life goes on. But, I am always cautious and make sure with the other owner that there is no age, physical or temper problem.

The weekday afternoons are different because the people/dogs are not consistent. Humping is permitted with only one or two dogs. Everyone else is forbidden and his interest is redirect.

Training wise: I was lucky in that there was a quiet day when Shadow was also about 3. He was transitioning from being humpee to humper. There was only one dog in the park and Shadow kept going over to her and trying to hump her while the owner was working on her training. So, that patient owner and I decided to also work on Shadow. She would give Shadow a body block or gentle push away as I said "no hump". Then we figured out the "glint in his eye" and the timing. Soon the gentle push wasn't needed. Took about 1/2 hour.

The next day, there was another "victim" - a yellow lab and a generous owner who allowed his dog to be used for training. We did the same and it took about 5 minutes -- this time it took only words.

[charliebbarkin]

Well. My ipad has gone rogue.

[Dallas dawg]

Well. My ipad has gone rogue.

Hahahahaha