Why Does My Dog Hump Me?

If your dog has a habit of humping you, it can be an awkward and frustrating experience for both you and them. Understanding the underlying causes of this behavior, like hormones or stress, is the first step in addressing it and maintaining a harmonious relationship with your dog.

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Reasons why dogs hump

Here are some reasons why your dog may be displaying humping behavior:

Health issues

• Stress: When dogs are feeling pressure or anxiety, they may begin to hump something. Humping is an innate form of pleasure, and humping when they are uncomfortable may help them feel relaxed or at ease. 

• Urinary Tract Infection (UTI): Humping may help them relieve some of the discomfort that comes along with a UTI. If you suspect your dog has a UTI, be sure to seek medical attention.

• Hormones: When a teenage dog begins reaching sexual maturity, they may begin humping other dogs as an instinctual response to mating. 

• Allergies: If your dog is itchy because of allergies or fleas, they may hump as a way to relieve the itchiness they are dealing with.

Non-health issues

• Arousal: Arousal is a state of being that a dog goes into when responding to certain stimuli. Arousal can be shown as fear or over-excitement. Have you ever seen a dog do “zoomies?” That is a high level of arousal due to excitement. Sometimes a dog may hump when feeling this way.

• Attention: Your dog may not be sure how to respond to something so they may hump. For example, if a dog feels left out of a group with multiple dogs or humans, or unsure how to handle a situation, they may begin to hump one of the dogs or a human to help get the situation under control. 

• Learned behavior: Allowing your dog to respond to situations by humping repeatedly will create an association or learned behavior. Humping will become a behavior that your dog does in response to a certain situation, and learned behaviors are challenging to unlearn. If you see your dog acting a certain way at a young age that you do not think is appropriate, it is important to help teach your dog a better way to respond immediately. 

• Displacement behavior: This is when your dog uses a normal behavior out of context, such as your dog humping a stuffed toy when they get excited rather than jumping on the new visitors. Your dog is suppressing the behavior of possibly jumping on your guest by humping a toy.

• Boredom: When they think, There’s nothing better to do so I might as well hump something.

• Mating or sexual behavior: Humping is a natural behavior used in the mating ritual of dogs. If your dog is not fixed they may be more likely to hump other dogs. 

• Playful: During play dogs may take turns humping each other. If the other dog doesn’t seem to mind, then it’s OK. If it becomes excessive or the other dog does not enjoy it, it is best to stop allowing this behavior to happen; it may mean that a dog is under-socialized and does not know how to properly engage in play.  

Related article

Humping. Why, Though?!

No less than 7 animal behaviorists weigh in on what’s behind all of this bumping and grinding.

Why does my female dog hump me?

Intact, un-neutered male and female dogs may both hump people and other dogs, but female dogs’ inappropriate mounting will often occur when they are “in heat.” This points to a hormonal reason for this behavior, rather than an issue of training.

Normal vs. excessive humping in dogs

A small amount of mounting or humping behavior exhibited by dogs is normal, and can be easily treated via a renewed focus on training. Excessive humping, however — as characterized by an increase in the behavior to the point of human discomfort — is disruptive and should be stopped, either via neutering or training.

How to stop your dog from humping

To find out why your dog is humping you will need to observe their behavior: where and when is it happening, and to what is it a response? Once you can answer those question you can then try to treat it. 

Identify the motivation for the humping behavior. Does your dog need more stimulation? Is it time to get your dog fixed? Are they in pain? Depending on why your dog is humping, you may need to elicit the help of a dog trainer or veterinarian to assist you with extinguishing this behavior. 

Teach leave it or replacement behavior, or practice avoidance depending on how serious your dog’s behavior is. “Leave it” means that your dog should stop engaging in the behavior you asked them to leave it from, i.e., humping. Teaching a replacement behavior means that you are going to train your dog to do something else when they feel the need to hump; for example, it could be grabbing a toy to play with or sniffing the ground. If you are practicing avoidance that means you will need to take your dog away from the situation when they begin humping, you will leave the environment completely.

Humping is an awkward behavior but it is also a natural one. You can help your dog be more comfortable in situations by figuring out why they are acting out by humping and then helping them disengage from it. 

FAQs (People also ask):

How to stop my dog from humping?

To stop your dog from humping, don’t be afraid to gently lead your dog away from the other dog by their collar or with their leash. Next, redirect your dog’s attention to another dog or person to play with, try distracting them with a toy, or simply remove your dog from the situation entirely. (The latter is particularly useful if the behavior is occurring somewhere high-energy, such as a dog park.)

Why do dogs hump?

Dogs may hump or mount for a variety of reasons. Some of these include excitement or arousal (sexual or otherwise); issues of dominance or control; or bond-testing between dogs.

References:

• Inappropriate Mounting in Dogs

• Behaviors Associated with Unneutered Male Dogs