Hi, before I do the wrong thing, do I ignore Dexter humping his teddy or do I discourage it? He will be 16 weeks on Saturday and I have no idea what I'm suppose to do about this.
Mabel used to do this, I found it really weird as she's a girl. We just ignored it and until I read your post I'd completely forgotten she used to do it. Probably only lasted a couple of weeks. Sorry that's probably not much help, I'm sure others on the forum with male dogs will be able to offer better advice.
I've heard of girl dogs doing it too. We ignore it at the moment better the teddy than my leg But then thought I'd better ask before it goes any further. I did mention it to the vet yesterday but he wasn't concerned. He actually praised me on Dexter's excellent behaviour, listening and doing as I asked also body condition. I also mentioned the crocopup that he can be, the vet agreed it's just a puppy stage.
Willow used to do it when she was small. It didn't last long, but I discouraged it. I just distracted her. I don't like dogs humping things, so don't think it's a good habit for them to get into, in case it sticks. Shadow humps Willow a bit (she's spayed so nothing bad will happen), and she's slowly learning to tell him off for it. He has never done it to any other dog, though.
I agree that distracting him is the best way to go. What's quite funny now in a little puppy may not be quite so cute when he's a year old and weighs 30 kg...
Oban started on dirty laundry lying on the floor for washing when he was 9 weeks old. I bought him a teddy, Poppa Bear, for the express purpose of humping and encouraged him on Poppa. GEt Poppa, you get him, you tell Poppa. LOL. Poppa is washable and can be hidden when company comes. Oban is an intact male, nearly 8 years old now, and he has never, ever humped anything other than Poppa. Maybe this is a result of directing him to an approved object, maybe it's luck, probably a bit of both. LOL, when Oban was young Poppa was bigger than him. As Oban grew he seemed mystified that Poppa seemingly did not behave as he used to. I don't have video but have some priceless memory film running in my head of Oban getting Poppa into position but now being quite a bit bigger than Poppa and going head over heels in a somersault with Poppa firmly clasped between his front legs the whole time. Your choice, forbid, distract, allow with appropriate object. The only negative I have encountered is that OH and his wonky male friends apparently find Oban and Poppa quite entertaining and if I'm not home the OH does not hide Poppa.
Mine have all humped cushions and teddies and each other from time to time (all girls) but I distract them every time as I don't want it to become a habit. I even took a photo of Gypsy humping Tatze - haha!
I always used to distract Charlie, it was a "thing" when he was a few months old, and take the object away. I'm not thrilled with it, I'd rather he didn't do it - looks cute in a tiny puppy, not so in a whopping great 30kg dog. Anyway, he stopped doing it.
Our dog Obi humps a particular cushion. We take it away as it's kind of an expensive cushion. Oh and he humps my hubby's pillow which I find entertaining and which hubby does not. We do take humping sessions as a sign that our dog is looking for entertainment and we schedule in an extra walk or training session or something.
That's interesting. We take them as a sign of happiness or contentment since they tend to happen after a walk or meal, or both. Oban was fed raw for a number of months and we noticed he was more happy and contented then. LOL We call it "spreading the joy."
Yeah, I guess they do it for different reasons. Obi definitely does it when he is bored (it's usually preceded by a lot of whining and attention seeking...). Like you, it doesn't bother me. And if they are getting something out of it, why not! I do try to stop Obi humping other dogs though as owners often do not like it happening, which is fair enough (and some dogs are too old and ricketty to handle it).
As a pup Mira used to hump OH's leg after exciting indoor play session. She never did it to anyone or anything else and grew out of it. Well mostly. She actually did it to him the other day. But he had been working her up into a frenzy As if she needs help getting over-excited
Dexter will still do it now if he's playing and gets too hyped up and I always interrupt him .....it just seems really bad manners to me so I hate it when people let their dogs do it to him and don't intervene! X
Ziggy humps his bedding when he's bored. I have been trying to nip it in the bud so he doesn't move onto legs and I just need to shoot him a look now and he stops. His response times to commands are really improving but like the jumping up and the biting I can't wait for the day when he doesn't start the bad behaviour in the first place!
Dexter does it after walks, training etc. He often gets frustrated when I end training where I've used treats, which as he's only young is always, although I do make him do some added things for what he has already mastered ie doing a sit and stay before treating. I do still treat sit on its own at times too. I'll take more notice of what leads up to it so that I can make a better judgement of how to distract him. He would train all day if I let him so I spent ages this morning cutting his training kibble in half and his other little treats into quarters, that way I can do more rewarding of good behaviour as well as on training sessions. Thank you for your advice everyone, I can see both sides of the picture.
My boy Otis started humping his stuffed dinosaur the day I brought him home at 8 weeks. He is 6 months now (intact) and still "loves" his girl. He is very considerate when I tell him not to do it on the couch or bed though and will take it into another room. He doesn't hump anything else but the dinosaur so I just let him do his thing.
Bella humps her bed cushion , just for a few minutes most days . Never humps anything or anyone else so I just leave her too it ..... It's random as it's the hump action but her bits are far away ?! Then she gets bored and moves on ...
Yep, with my Dexter it's only the one teddy. I'm ignoring it unless he seems too uptight and then I just call him and say, your poor teddy. He usually stops then and is redirected to do something else.
