Understanding Why My Female Dog Humps My Male Dog

It's not uncommon for female dogs to exhibit mounting behavior towards their male counterparts, but it can be puzzling for pet owners to understand the reasoning behind it.

Mounting behavior in female dogs is often a sign of excitement or playfulness, especially if they're young or high-energy.

Female dogs may also mount their male counterparts due to a natural instinct to assert dominance or establish a hierarchy within the pack.

In some cases, mounting behavior can be a way for female dogs to initiate play or seek attention from their male companions.

Worth a look: How to Stop a Male Dog from Mounting Other Dogs

Dogs may hump each other for sexual reasons, especially during a female's heat cycle. This behavior can be accompanied by other signs like a raised tail, pawing, and play bows.

In some cases, female dogs may mount males to encourage mating. Lifting the tail to the side, urinating more, over-friendliness, agitation, play bowing, and pawing at the male are also signs that a female dog wants to initiate mating.

Curious to learn more? Check out: When Is Female Dog Ready to Mate

Puppies under a year old who haven't been spayed or neutered will hump mainly for sexual reasons. This is because they haven't yet been fixed, and their hormones are still driving their behavior.

Sexually motivated humping tends to occur during a female's heat cycle. It's essential to have your dogs - male and female - neutered and spayed to eliminate confusion and put an end to sexual humping.

Curious to learn more? Check out: Female Dog Neutering Procedure

Dogs hump for a variety of reasons, including hormones and habit.

Hormones can be a major contributor to humping behavior, especially in puppies approaching sexual maturity around 5-8 months old. They may start humping due to instinctual responses to the presence of a female dog in heat.

In some cases, a dog may learn to associate humping with pleasure, leading to obsessive behavior. This can be a problem, especially if the dog is large and strong, like the dog in the daycare video who was dismissed due to his humping behavior.

Habit can also play a role in humping behavior, especially if it's not corrected early on. Dogs may learn to hump when they're feeling anxious, excited, or playful, and it becomes a habitual behavior.

Hormones play a significant role in humping behavior, especially in puppies approaching sexual maturity around 5–8 months old. They may start humping for reasons other than play or stress due to their raging hormones.

Dogs can smell when a female dog is about to go into heat and this can trigger the instinctual response to mount. Even neutered males can exhibit this behavior.

A dog may find out that humping feels good and then engage in more humping to experience this pleasure. This can lead to obsessive humping, especially if the dog is large and strong.

In one case, a dog was humping obsessively at daycare, which led to him being dismissed a month prior to the neutering age requirement.

Dogs may hump due to habit, a learned behavior that stems from not correcting the action when it first started. This can happen when a dog is anxious, excited, or playful.

If a dog has learned to hump for these reasons and it was never corrected, it's now a habit. It could even have originated from puppyhood, where the behavior was first established.

Expand your knowledge: Female Dog First Heat Cycle

Humping is a normal dog behavior, but it can be a problem if it makes you or the object of affection uncomfortable. If you want your dog to stop humping, denying her the opportunity to start is a good idea.

Knowing the situations where your dog is prone to humping is key to managing the behavior. If your dog humps in certain conditions, like when guests come over, it's best to take steps to prevent it by redirecting your dog before she starts the humping.

Redirecting involves distracting your dog with something else when they're about to hump. For example, if your dog loves a specific toy, use that to distract them when they start to paw, whine, or pant.

Teaching a command like "leave it" can also help manage humping behavior. Reward your dog for doing the right thing with treats and games.

Hormone-driven behaviors can become lifetime habits even after neutering, so addressing your dog's humping behavior prior to neutering is a good idea. If your dog rehearses humping behavior over and over, it becomes self-reinforcing and won't just disappear after being neutered.

Additional reading: Male Dogs after Neutering

Redirecting your dog's attention is a great way to stop humping behavior. You can do this by interrupting the behavior or redirecting your dog's focus by asking for a sit or other behavior.

Giving your dog a down-stay on their bed is a great option to help prevent humping. By helping your dog practice a different behavior, you're showing them what you want from them instead of telling them to stop.

Regular exercise and giving your dog positive, one-on-one time with you every day can also help strengthen your bond and lessen their need to turn to undesirable behaviors like humping.

Expand your knowledge: Dog Names Female Start with S

Spaying is a procedure that can help reduce hormone-driven humping in female dogs, especially when they're in heat.

Just remember, spaying won't necessarily stop a female dog from humping entirely, as some dogs may continue to hump for a few months after the surgery because it takes time for the hormones to completely go away.

Spaying a female dog doesn't have much impact on their humping behavior if it's not related to hormones, which is often the case.

Dogs hump for a variety of reasons, and it's not always about sex. Sometimes, a female dog will mount a male to encourage mating, and she may display other behaviors like lifting her tail to the side, urinating more, or being overly friendly.

Lifting her tail to the side, urinating more, over-friendliness, agitation, play bowing, and pawing at the male are all signs that a female dog wants to initiate mating. Female dogs may also mount other females or let themselves be mounted by females when in heat.

Humping can be a self-soothing behavior for dogs who are stressed or overstimulated. This is usually the most common reason for humping that I see in my behavior consultations.

Recommended read: Signs a Female Dog Has Mated

Stress can manifest in dogs as a range of behaviors, including yawning, pacing, and restlessness. Dogs may also exhibit excessive barking, panting, and whining.

Some common signs of stress in dogs include dilated pupils, rapid blinking, and pinned-back ears. A tucked-under tail and side eye are also indicators of stress.

Dogs may urinate or defecate in the house as a sign that they're anxious. Humping can be a coping mechanism for stress, often triggered by overstimulation or anxiety in the environment.

In cases where a dog is humping due to stress, it's essential to identify the underlying cause and address it. This might involve modifying the environment or providing additional training and support.

Hump toys are a safe outlet for humping behavior in dogs.

Some female dogs may hump objects like pillows, toys, or furniture due to environmental conditions or stimuli, and if they receive attention for it, they may continue the behavior.

If your dog's humping doesn't bother you, letting her use one of her dog toys as a personal mounting object is acceptable.

Dogs will also hump toys and pillows as a means of play, which is a common behavior in dogs.

It's a play gesture that dogs do because no one has told them it's not acceptable, and it can become a normal part of their day.

Play behavior is important to good mental health and growth, and it's a reflection of actions in normal life, maybe even a rehearsal.

Expand your knowledge: Female Dog Has Blood in Urine

Play is a normal part of dog behavior, and humping can be a common way for dogs to initiate or participate in play.

Dogs will often mount each other, then switch off and mount the other dog, as a way of playing together.

This behavior is often seen in puppies who are still learning what is and isn't acceptable, so it can become a habit if not addressed.

It's a play gesture that dogs do because no one has told them it's not acceptable, and it can become enjoyable or a normal part of the dog's day.

Dogs may also hump toys and pillows as a means of play, just like they might growl and shake a toy during play.

Play tends to be a reflection of actions in normal life, and it can even be a rehearsal for future behaviors.

For example, if your dog is humping a toy, it's likely because they're practicing their play behavior and getting ready for real-life interactions.

Additional reading: Why Is My Female Dog Whining and Carrying a Toy

Sexuality is a complex aspect of canine behavior, and it's not always easy to tell if a dog is humping for sexual reasons or not. In fact, some female dogs mount males in an attempt to encourage mating.

Contrary to common belief, dog humping is not always sexual, but sometimes it is. Some female dogs mount males in an attempt to encourage mating.

Female dogs sometimes mount other females or let themselves be mounted by females when in heat, which is a clear indication of sexual behavior. This behavior can be accompanied by other forms of "flirtatious" body language like a raised tail, pawing, and play bows.

Puppies under a year old who haven't been fixed will hump mainly for sexual reasons, making it a necessary behavior for reproduction.

Recommended read: Can a Female Dog Get Pregnant by Multiple Male Dogs

Addressing the issue of your female dog humping your male dog requires a thoughtful approach.

Consider the environmental factors that may be causing your dog stress or overwhelming them, which can lead to humping behavior.

Taking your dog to the dog park or daycare might be too much for them to handle, so it's a good idea to set up playdates with other dogs your dog is more comfortable with.

For dogs who hump as a way of policing other dogs' play, planning visits to the park when there are fewer dogs can be a big help.

If your dog humps people or other pets, reducing excitement and stress through management and training is key.

This can involve keeping your dog in a separate area until they've calmed down, or for the entirety of the visit if the stress is fear-based.

Working with a certified dog trainer or behavior consultant on desensitization and counterconditioning can also be beneficial.

Providing other self-soothing activities for hyper or anxious dogs can go a long way in preventing humping from even starting.