Many people believe that mounting is a sign of dominance in a dog. There goes that D word again. It seems like everything a dog does now a days is a “sign of dominance”. I really hate that word.
- It can be sexual in nature.
- It can be a sign of dominance.
- It can be a reaction to something that excited the dog.
- The dog may not have been socialized correctly and doesn’t know that it is inappropriate.
Dr. Karen Overall states that when dogs exhibiting this behavior are castrated, mounting decreases by approximately 60%. But the longer the dog practices this behavior, the greater the degree of the learned component over the hormonal component. Meaning that the longer the dog rehearses the behavior, the stronger the habit becomes.
What can you do about it? If the dog hasn’t habituated to the behavior, reducing the hormone levels through castration can help. Dogs that have habituated need to be under supervision when the environmental factors are present to trigger the mounting behavior. Stopping the dog as soon as the behavior begins, better yet right before the behavior begins, and redirect the dog to an alternate behavior can help break the habit depending on how strong the habit has become. In other words, stop the dog from mounting and give them something else to do.
Resources:
Clinical Behavior Medicine for Small Animals by Dr. Karen Overall
pets.webmd.com/dogs/features/humping-why-do-dogs-do-it