Humping Puppy

[Kiahpyr]

I couldn't believe it when I saw it. Kitana was humping Kiah. I've seen her do this a few times and I just realized what she was doing. Kitana is 12 weeks old. Why does she do this? Is it for dominance? What should I do about it? Should I tell her no? Let it be? I've never seen a female do this before. Help!

[ZooCrew]

Yes, I would guess this is for dominance, but not in the usual way.  Since she is only 12 wks, I would say this is more testing the waters kind of dominance.  She is around the age where she will be testing to see what she can get away with, especially with Kiah.

I would put a stop to it if Kiah doesn't on her own.  Unless of course it doesn't bother you.  Gunther tried to do that a couple of times to Keiko as well, but he never actually humped "on" her, more like he stood next to her and did it.  He was smart b/c she would have let him have it if he ever did try getting on her.

With Gunther, this phase only lasted a short while (like b/t 3-5 months), b/c I wouldn't let him hump anything.  Like I said he tried a couple of times with Keiko, once with me, and a few times at the dog park with some friends.  Of course Gunther is a submissive, so that does make a difference.  If Kitana is more of a dominant or alpha type, she may try to get away with it more often.

[cuttles/sadieMay]

Kayzer is a humper as well and he really likes to try it with Judge but Judge really doesnt stand for it at all. He will usually stand up or bite at Kayzer when he does it and Kayzer just gets the hint!!!! I noticed he is not doing it quite as much. We just tell him no when he does it simply because I dont want him thinking that this is ok, just in case he thinks he can try it with people. He is now 16 weeks old and he weighs 60lbs so he could easily throw you off if he did try it to a leg one day! Im hoping he will never try that, but I think you have to let them know right off the hop that they cant. I dont know if this is the right thing to do but thats what I do! Good Luck!
cuttles

[Mom2Sadie]

When my parents Golden was a puppy he used to hump EVERYTHING. He humped their other dog all the time. It was funny actually because the Golden (Bailey) was this little peanut compared to their giant German Shepherd and it was just this little ball of fluff on top of this massive dog. He grew out of it quickly once my parents Shepherd had enough. Now they just kiss and cuddle. My father tells everyone they live an alternative lifestyle.