# female dog humping



## kellymac

I have a 6 month old female border collie/australian shepherd mix. In the last month she has began humping my boyfriend. When he sits in a chair and puts his legs out she climbs on them and begins to hump. When we are in bed she will climb on top of him and begin to hump. I have never seen a female dog do this. I was just wondering if this is normal behavior or not. We are taking her to the vet to have her fixed on Monday. I wasn't sure if this would stop it or not. If it doesn't help with the humping, can we stop her from doing it? It's kind of embarasing when we have people over. Help!


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## Cheetah

Your puppy is trying to assert her dominance on your boyfriend. My spayed 6-year-old female does this to other dogs sometimes and I have her knock it off if she is persistant (it can cause fights if the other dog thinks it ranks higher than her), but she knows that it's absolutely unacceptable to do it to humans.

Spaying MIGHT curb it, but might not, as it's not really hormonal, but a pecking order thing. Just don't allow her to do it. If she starts humping your boyfriend while he's in bed trying to sleep, make her get off the bed. If she does it while you're sitting, get up and walk away. If she does it to a guest, just make her stop by pulling her away or have the guest stand up and walk away for a minute.


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## GSD lover

Yes, strangely female dogs do this. She is trying to dominate your boyfriend like Cheetah and Curb said. One good thing to do is have your boyfriend work on relationship skills with her. That way she can learn he is above her and she isn't above him.


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## bigdawgs

This still happens from time to time here, not to people, but to each other. Sometimes it starts out as play, but it is ALWAYS initiated by a lower dog, who thinks maybe she can sneak in and raise her status, and occassionally it ends up in a fight if the alpha doesn't like it and the subordinant won't give up. As long as it doesn't get too out of hand, I let the argument go. as this stops the behavior much more quickly that my interference ever could. 

As soon as she starts this, take a very firm hand in stopping it immediately. She needs to understand that humans take precedence, period, the end. Make the bed off limits.


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## opokki

It may also be an expression of excess energy. Just like barking, chewing.
Interrupt her and redirect her to something else, preferably something incompatible with humping.


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## sheltieluver4

*ooooooo*

Yeah this is dominance towards him, u do know animals can tell female and male humans, like my uncles dog was abused by a man so he is cautious of men now so maybe she is obsessed with men lol just correct her when she does this,and dont do a sweet little no do a dominent NOOO!!! and mabye do a not to hard but not to soft pat on the snout, this happens with males 2, and im getting a female pup, i hope i can train her myself


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## MuhBabiPhill

my dog humps my leg when she wants to play fetch while i'm busy doing something else and i tell her no she just wags her tail and grabs my leg


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## Cracker

Humping is not always dominance, but is certainly a sign of emotion, whether it be anxiety, overexcitement, stress or even invitation to play..so a lot depends on the situation itself.
Cracker only humps other dogs when she's feeling insecure, so theoretically it could be an attempt at gaining some sort of physical control over the other dog.
As for people humping..It's most often stress related..does your BF live with you guys or only an "occasional" overnighter?
Whether it is "dominance" or not..it is simply a behaviour. If it's a behaviour you don't like you teach her its' not acceptable by removing her FIRMLY but not angrily and teaching her how to go to her her own bed and rewarding her for going there.


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## GypsyJazmine

Cracker said:


> Humping is not always dominance, but is certainly a sign of emotion, whether it be anxiety, overexcitement, stress or even invitation to play..so a lot depends on the situation itself.
> Cracker only humps other dogs when she's feeling insecure, so theoretically it could be an attempt at gaining some sort of physical control over the other dog.
> As for people humping..It's most often stress related..does your BF live with you guys or only an "occasional" overnighter?
> Whether it is "dominance" or not..it is simply a behaviour. If it's a behaviour you don't like you teach her its' not acceptable by removing her FIRMLY but not angrily and teaching her how to go to her her own bed and rewarding her for going there.


I agree Cracker!


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## MMC

i just got a 10 month old spayed female lhasa she is humping my female yorkipoo and humans is this normal and how do i stop it?


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## Lorelei

:wave:Hi,

First time poster here - I have a humping female dog.

She is a shih-tzu, almost two years old, not spayed. We plan to breed her the next heat cycle. 

She humps her bed, and often continues the motion as she is walking away from a humping episode on her bed. Her humping increases surrounding her heat cycle. Our Vet, and also friends, explained it away as being a dominating behavior. Indeed, she does assert herself as the dominate but never in a problematic way. 

Does anyone else have the experience of this being hormonal? She's gone for six months not in heat, and no humping, until today. Obviously, she is due to be in heat again. Is this possibly a good indication of timing her heat?

~ Lorelei


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## phoenix3404

I just now noticed my 3 1/2 month old puppy who is spayed hump her stuffed tiger toy. Is she trying to assert her dominance over this toy?(it is a huge stuffed tiger, btw.)


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## Sendiulino

Sam humps both our cat and our second dog. The second dog however, unlike the cat, tries to do the same to her, but she won't allow it  We strongly believe it is a dominance thing. She does not hump anything else other than other animals.

Humping can be a sign of dominance or a sign of "claiming" something (which is basically dominance).. it can also just be related to extreme emotion but I find that to be more common in males than females to be honest. With females I see much more tendency toward trying to claim and/or assert, which is related to a dominant display. 

Should also mention that Sam is unspayed as of yet.


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## Bighead_Stammerer

Well, I suggest you to ask the local vet for advise. This kind of behaviour is strange. The earlier you get the right answer the better.


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## Firem4nJoe

She could also, merely and quite literally just be scratching an itch.
The little Terrier I used to have would do this with her teddy bears, but only the ones with the stumpy tails, they seemed to do the job better.


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## moonglimmer

Cracker I think you are correct because my almost 6 year old female American Pitt named Kittydoes this to my boyfriend. It is actually quite comical because of the way it starts. My boyfriend works most of the day so when he comes in she becomes excited but seems to know that he just got home. At dinner we sit down and eat and the go to the couch and watch a movie as a family and this is where it all begins. She is almost as big as us and itis funny because she thinks she can put that big rear of hers into a couple of inches of couch space. We always make room but it is funny because I think she has missed B all day and she has a funny way of letting him know. It starts out with a long stare until he looks and speaks to her and ask her what she wants. This seems to mean it is now time to lick , kiss and clean him aall over if he would let her. Telling her to stop and pushing her away seems to make her think it is now time to play and she is going to be boss so the humping begins. It takes a few minutes to get her to stop because she is all about playing now. This is when we get the rope out because the one thing she loves even more than licking and humping is her rope. I am with her all day and she does not do this but I think it is her way of showing B that she is glad he is home, that she loves him and would he play now.


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## shreks0fiona

hya, 1st time poster  i have a 13 week old collie bitch and she humps, me, my daughters and her teddy but never my husband. if the girls try and walk anywhere she runs up and does it to them. my 4 year old thinks its funny and says she's trying to dance with her  if i am sitting with my legs crossed, she will jump on to the leg thats high and hump it. i try pushing her off and saying no but she carries on. will she ever stop?


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## hanksimon

If a dog isn't growling then humping isn't a dangerous, aggressive display. Sometimes, even when growling, it can be just play or 'scratching an itch.'

It is self-rewarding for the dog, so you have to anticipate and stop it, or physically remove the dog, especially if the dog is 'playing.'

Teach the dog a solid Sit, then watch the dog carefully for when she gets that amorous look in her eye, then tell her Sit immediately. Most dogs won't Sit once they've started...and you have to remove them.


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## SabrinaMorgan

Moonglimmer, It sounds like she thinks he's not part of the pack. It may become a ritual because she's getting rewarded for that behavior by getting the rope. It might be a good idea to have her sit when he gets home and bring the rope out while she's behaving so you can avoid the whole scene. It sounds really funny but it will bother you later.


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