Dogs of all breeds, ages, and genders can hump. However, it’s most common in young, intact male dogs. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to curb this behavior.
In this article, we’ll discuss why dogs hump, when you should stop a dog from humping, and fifteen ways to stop your dog from humping.
Table of Contents:
Why do Dogs Hump?
Most people consider dogs humping to be sexual in nature, but this isn’t always the case—though it can be, particularly for unneutered males.
Dogs also hump when they’re excited, nervous, or insecure. It can also indicate an underlying medical issue, such as infections or prostate problems.
It’s common for dogs to hump, especially when they’re still puppies. They might mount people, other dogs, bedding, toys, or other objects. Sometimes certain scents, such as perfumes, might encourage a dog to hump a person.
Do Female Dogs Hump?
Both female and male dogs hump. Females engage in this behavior for the same reason as males: out of excitement, anxiety, or insecurity, or for sexual gratification.
A female dog will usually hump while in heat, which is when she’s ready to mate with a male dog and have puppies. She may become more affectionate, vocal, or even try to escape home around this time as she’s desperate to find a boy!
Many people may never notice their female dog humping because they spay her before she goes into her first heat. I recommend following your veterinarian’s advice and spaying your pup as early as is healthy for her. This will depend on her breed.
When Should I Stop my Dog From Humping?
Humping in dogs is completely normal. If it’s not bothering anyone, it’s okay to let them do their thing! Let it go and politely look away.
However, humping can sometimes become a problem or indicate a problem. Your dog might be humping constantly or inappropriately.
For instance, humping other dogs can lead to fights if the other pup doesn’t want to be mounted. Discourage this behavior early on so that no one ends up irritated or hurt.
I, personally, would never let my dog hump a person in the household either. This is uncomfortable for the person involved and is definitely an invasion of personal space!
And, of course, nobody wants their dog humping their guests—or even humping in front of the guests.
Here are some signs the humping should be stopped:
- It’s happening constantly, more than a handful of times each day
- It bothers you, your family, other pets, or guests
- Your dog shows other signs of stress
- Your pup doesn’t get the right amount of daily exercise for their breed, including at least one daily walk
- If your dog shows other symptoms like itching around the genitals, chewing, or licking the area, see your veterinarian as this could indicate a health problem
How to Stop a Dog From Humping
1. Spay or Neuter Your Dog
The first step to stop humping is to spay or neuter your dog. Spaying and neutering comes with several health and behavioral benefits, and might be enough to stop your dog from humping on its own.
If you’re struggling to afford this surgery, look into low-cost programs in your area.
Unfortunately, you might not be able to spay or neuter your pup yet. Some breeds should be left intact until maturity to prevent health problems later in life. Talk to your veterinarian to see what age is best for your dog to be spayed or neutered.
2. Rule Out Medical Causes
Whether you’ve already spayed or neutered your dog or cannot yet, the next step is to rule out medical causes.
Even if your dog isn’t showing other symptoms, I recommend visiting your veterinarian if the humping is excessive. They might see something you aren’t able to with the naked eye, such as an irregularity in your dog’s bloodwork.
Once you have the all-clear from the vet, you can begin looking into behavioral causes.
3. Provide Daily Exercise
Boredom and frustration can lead to humping in dogs. They might become overly excited during playtime or even hump to try to engage you in play.
All dogs need consistent daily exercise, puppies especially! If your dog is still a puppy, they’ll need short bursts of activity throughout the day. This is important so that you don’t overwork their muscles.
Puppies also have shorter attention spans and endurance levels than adult dogs.
If your dog is an adult, they should get at least one daily walk in addition to playtime and time to run freely in an enclosed space. For a Chihuahua, this might be the living room. For a Greyhound, it will be an outdoor space like the backyard.
Mental stimulation is also incredibly important. Games of fetch, hide and seek, and puzzle toys are all ways to engage your dog’s brain as well as their body.
It’s important to make sure you’re providing for your dog’s needs before trying to train out their behavior.
4. Learn the Signs
Just like when you’re potty training your pup or teaching them not to bite, you first need to know the signs your dog is about to hump something or someone. You might notice a different look in their eye, your dog starting to whine, or their front paws wrapping around the object, pet, or person.
Once you know the signs, you can stop the behavior before it happens. This is the best way to train out any behavior, as the more a dog repeats it, the more they’re likely to continue.
5. Reward Good Behavior
The best thing you can do in training is to teach your dog what you want to see. When they lay on the couch rather than humping it, play appropriately with another dog, or come to you without humping your leg, praise them heavily and offer a treat!
Another way to train out humping using positive reinforcement is to have your dog follow a command like “sit.” However, keep in mind that this won’t always work—when a dog is too overstimulated, they aren’t able to listen. You might need to back up a few steps so your dog isn’t so overwhelmed, and start there.
6. Redirect Your Dog
If your dog is humping often or you know when they typically hump, such as when greeting new people, keep a treat or toy on hand. Throw it in the opposite direction before your dog humps. This is why knowing the signs is important!
If your dog is already humping, this trick can also work to get them to stop. But it’s more effective to catch the behavior before it happens when possible.
With consistent redirection, your dog will learn that you don’t want them humping and will wait to see what you do want from them.
7. Teach an Incompatible Behavior
Another redirection method is to teach an incompatible behavior. This means teaching something your dog cannot do while humping.
Easy behaviors to go for are “sit” or “down.” If your dog doesn’t listen to these commands in the moment, like we discussed above, work on adding distractions until they can.
For instance, if your dog humps people as a greeting, try keeping them in a separate room when someone walks through the door and have them sit. Gradually, you can allow them closer and closer to the door until they can sit right in front of the guest without humping.
You could also try teaching a “place” command where your dog sits in a designated area. Allow them to be “free” once they’ve lost some of that excitement, and this might prevent the humping.
8. Manage the Behavior
Sometimes, we can’t train our dogs fast enough to do what we need them to. This is when management strategies come into play.
The best management for humping dogs is a crate or simply another room with a door. This can work if you don’t want your dog humping guests, or even when you need a break from your dog’s behavior before going back to training.
9. Gently Push them Away
It’s also okay to gently push your dog away from whatever it is they’re humping. They might try to latch onto your arm to continue, but take it away as well. With some consistency, they’ll get the picture that you don’t want them doing it!
10. Walk Away from the Dog
If pushing your dog off of your leg isn’t working and they’re too excited, try walking away. You can go across the room or even into another room of the house if needed.
Stay there for a few minutes before reengaging. Your dog will learn that playtime and interaction ends when they get too hyped up and start to hump.
11. Give Your Dog Some Quiet Time
Sometimes puppies get overstimulated and need some down time. Like toddlers, they aren’t always willing to take a nap—but that doesn’t mean they don’t need one!
If your little one is too hyper or stressed, try giving them some quiet time in their crate or another peaceful location in the house.
This is basically a “time out,” but don’t think of it as punishment for your dog. Don’t scold them either! Just calmly place them somewhere quiet for a few minutes. Then, you can check to see if they’ve settled and let them out once they have.
12. Keep Stress and Excitement Levels Low
Often, dogs will hump in the middle of play, when someone comes through the door, or other very exciting times!
Of course, your pup needs playtime and people are bound to come in and out of the house. But try to limit things like kids running around yelling, loud noises during play, and anything that your dog finds stressful.
Stop play when your dog becomes too rambunctious, and keep in mind that this may be a sign that they’re overtired. As we discussed above, sometimes when puppies seem most hyper is when they actually need a nap!
13. Stay Consistent
All of the methods above will work, but you must be consistent with them! Jumping from one training method to the other will confuse your pup.
Make sure everyone in the house is on board with the new rules and enforcing them consistently. If possible, stop the humping before it happens by learning what triggers your puppy into that behavior.
It can take a long time to stop your dog from humping entirely, especially if they aren’t spayed or neutered. Stick with it and have patience—remember, dogs don’t understand things like human manners!
14. Don’t Scold or Physically Punish Them
Yelling at your puppy for humping won’t work. If they do it because they’re afraid or excited, it might actually cause them to hump even more!
Puppies sometimes mistake us yelling for us being excited or “barking” at them. On the flip side, it can be scary for some dogs to be scolded.
It goes without saying that physical punishments are also a no! Never hit your dog or otherwise hurt them. This includes shock collars and similar devices.
There are much better ways to get your dog to listen than punishments that typically don’t work anyway!
15. Contact a Professional in the Case of Obsessive Behavior
If your dog’s humping seems obsessive and you can’t make them stop, it’s time to contact a professional. I recommend a certified dog behaviorist for this job.
Remember that dog trainers don’t necessarily need certification, so finding someone who has it is a good sign that they have some knowledge and training.
I also recommend avoiding trainers who describe themselves as “balanced” as this means they’re willing to use strong aversive methods such as shock collars.
Also avoid anyone who speaks about dominating your dog, says your dog is trying to dominate you by humping, or that you must become the alpha dog or pack leader.
This has all been disproven and is a huge red flag that your trainer or behaviorist will use outdated training techniques on your dog. This form of training, known as dominance theory, harms your relationship to your dog and can quickly become abusive.
