[colton]

Haven't been on here for sometime but hoping to still get the usual helpful advice. I have the most amazing and wonderful golden, Bodhi.....got the name from a suggestion on this site.

He is perfect in every way, bar one! When he was a puppy he used to get over excited when meeting any new dog and would try and mount them. I had him neutered at 2years, the age I prefer to do it, and he stopped. It used to be an absolute pain taking him to any off leash area because he would run off to mount any dog and make the whole experience unpleasant. It got to the point where I refused to take him out because of it. As I said it all stopped a few months after getting the snip and I presumed the dominance issues were over.

He was really great for about two years and now he has started doing the same thing again. He is a very obedient boy otherwise and I have no issues with him trying to mount people etc...just other dogs, especially large ones. He kinda leaves the little ones alone and rarely tries it on them.

As a pup he used to charge down on any new dogs, out of excitement, and jump all over them in greeting. He learned not to do that and now will approach ALL dogs, including little ones, slowly and take the submissive pose, not on his back, just crouched down or on his side, while waiting for them to approach him first. After the initial contact and all seeming well, he will then jump all over them and start mounting. He only does it when excited though and off lead.

It is so frustrating for me because he seems to be showing both dominant and submissive signs?????? He is really the sweetest, most placid boy and in 4 years I have never heard him growl so I doubt it is a dominance thing???? Even when once attacked and snapped at by different dogs he has never retaliated, he has either run back to me or just rolled on to his back.

It has got to the point where after this morning's walk I have had enough and just don't want to take him to the doggy park anymore, even though he loves it and runs and jumps off lots of pent up energy.

Maybe he needs to be exercised more? I do shift work and it is not always possible to walk him. We are getting a new puppy this year hoping that another golden to play with will be good for him. That isn't the only reason for getting the puppy by the way, we have always had two dogs and feel after 4 years it is time for the next one. We are an only dog/pet household. He comes everywhere....where possible....with us and when I work he stays inside because he does not like being left outside without "his people". Actually he has never slept outside, even if we are camping he sleeps in our tent, so he wouldn't know what to do if told to stay outside.

He is very loved but not spoiled. He has to work for his food, a sit/heel/shake, whatever I can think of so he does know his place. Has never slept on our beds or lounges, has areas of the house that are off limits and anyone can take toys/food/bedding away from him...even out of his mouth, and he has no issues with that.....not dominant????? Loves the vet, even when getting a needle...will just wag his tail and lick her.

I apologize for the long post but I wanted to give the whole picture because I know, after years of training, that I have done everything that I can think of that was "right"???????

Oh by the way he does stop mounting IF I go over and pull him off or just pull his tail up a little. He will stop immediately and just wag his tail but 2 mins later will be doing the same thing to the same dog! :doh:

Hopefully someone can shed some light on the best way to deal with this.:crossfing

 

[colton]

Is there anyone who understands dog behaviour who can help me out? Getting desperate.:crossfing

 

[laprincessa]

I'm surprised you haven't gotten any responses to this, because humping is a controversial topic at times.
I think it's normal, dogs being dogs, doesn't really have to do with dominance. Max will hump when he's happy, excited - and the dog park would make him both. He sometimes jumps on me when we've been playing outside and running around like crazies. I tell him "off" and try to catch him before he jumps!
We don't do dog parks anymore, but I would say unless it's bothering the other dog, let him go. If the other dogs' owners are bothered, take him to another part of the park. We've had to walk away from dogs more than once - but I never thought of it as dominance, it's just dogs being dogs.
But I'm not an expert on dog behavior, I just know my Max.

 

[Shalva]

my response is going to seem very condescending and it is not meant to be at all ... but its pretty basic teach him to stop.

I have 5 male dogs here and they don't hump anyone but that is simply because like any other behavior that we don't approve of we don't allow it and humping/mounting is no different... many people think that these male behaviors such as mounting and marking are somehow different than any other undesireable behavior and they are not. In the same way as you taught your dog not to do other things you don't like you can teach him to stop this as well.

I have one dog who tends to want to hump one of our girls and all i have to do is say Meir Off or knock it off and he stops.... its because he knows it is not allowed.

Teach your dog that no means no and that behavior is not allowed.

As far as the submissive vs dominant thing well I dont think there is one answer to that... I think in some dogs it can be based on nerves and nervousness and they don't knwo how to respond so they hump the other dog that they are nervous of... kind of a first strike thing... I think for others it is more dominance... (and honestly I hate those words as dog behavior is much more complex) I do see some of my older dogs occasionally hump the younger ones but almost always i see it about the time when I am also acknowledging that the younger one needs to be taken down a peg or two in the bossiness department but again... as soon as I say knock it off... it stops

so thats just my two cents and yes excercise may help decrease the behavior but it may not... neutering does not always decrease the behavior either as it is generally not sexual in nature

 

[Megora]

I didn't respond earlier, because my answer probably is not going to be helpful if you want to continue turning him loose with other dogs...

But my feeling is you need to click that leash on and control your dog's interacts with other dogs. If they are play fighting and chewing on each other, fine. If the mounting starts, you click the leash on and break up the play time.

In general, I think it is a stress or excitement response. It could be dominance, but honestly I would handle it the same way regardless.

 

[fostermom]

It sounds as though his humping is excitement based. You need to work on a command or sound (uh uh) to use when he does it and remove him from the situation. You may have to start with him on a long lead to begin with to give you immediate access to him.

 

[Wyatt's mommy]

Agree they can be taught to stop. I have always nipped it the bud before it got out of hand.

 

[colton]

Thanks for the help. We will be working on this 100%. I do obviously reprimand him as soon as he does it and pull him off. It is just so frustrating when other dog owners say "It's ok...it's natural" etc when I am trying to correct him, even though I do ignore them.

I will be putting his leash on immediately and leaving the dog park as soon as he starts. Maybe my body language as well as the actions will teach him that it is unacceptable behaviour.

Thanks again

 

[tippykayak]

I'm with the interruption crowd. I don't think you need to make the experience terribly unpleasant, but you have to recondition him with an interruption right as he starts hitting that level of excitement or begins the mounting behavior itself.

I'd leash him, bring him away from the other dogs, and bore the hell out of him for a couple of minutes and then let him loose again to play. That'll give you more opportunities to interrupt than you would get if you actually left the park each time he did it.

As far as the other owners, they're probably just trying to be polite. Tell them that you're glad they don't care but that you're working on training him out of it and you appreciate their help. Most people are pretty supportive in that kind of scenario.

 

[sdain31y]

My two hump (a female that is a yr older then the younger male) each other when they are playing. Haven't ever seen it with any other dogs, but its defintely in their bag of tricks with each other. Doesn't seem to bother them, so never really worried about having to do anything about stopping it. Figured it was just play.