23/08/2026
HU***NG HOUNDS
Some dogs do and some dogs don’t, but if you have a dog that humps at the most inopportune times it can be particularly embarrassing or uncomfortable as though our dogs have just committed the ultimate social faux pas.
Hu***ng is a completely normal behaviour and some dogs are really not fussy about the recipient – other dogs, cats, people, visitors, toys, cushions, furniture - anything that can be mounted and clung to may be fair game.
Like many other behaviours, it doesn’t always have a simple reason. It’s often a complex behaviour that is usually emotionally or socially based.
When hu***ng is annoying another dog or person or causing frustration, discomfort or harm in any way, then obviously this behaviour needs to be addressed, but sometimes we need to consider if it’s really something we need to immediately stop because we see it as socially unacceptable?
Is it just a harmless way of relieving stress or anxiety or a way to release excess energy? Is a little hump now and then okay if it’s not causing any harm?
Taking note of the context, environment, or specific triggers can provide information as to what may be causing the behaviour.
An example of this with my own dogs – every week when we got back from a long walk, one of my younger male dogs would hump my little female. She’s an old lady now and finds it stressful so I needed to find a way to prevent it. I believe that hu***ng was his way of self-regulating, releasing the excitement and calming himself down after the walk.
Now when we return from a walk, he gets a long lasting chewy. Chewing is an alternative, incompatible behaviour. It has a calming effect, enables him to relax, self-regulate and has stopped him from hu***ng her.
We should not just be addressing the symptom, but look beneath the behaviour, understand what’s driving it and then address the underlying cause. Suppressing behaviour is not the same as modifying behaviour.
