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The issue of humping in dogs is something that has baffled dog owners, and a huge number of them had to deal with it at some point. Humping is not just limited to the male dogs as female dogs also depict this behavior.
Although, they are less likely to indulge in this practice, it is an embarrassing behavior, nonetheless. Now some dog owners might find it a funny or natural occurrence, it is not an appropriate behavior and it needs to be altered.
Why Do Female Dogs Hump?
Dog Behavior Experts have come up with a number of reasons that can be the possible catalysts behind this demeanor in female dogs.
According to them, female dogs can use humping as a tool to express their dominance over an object or a person. It can also be their effort to assert domination over other dogs or litter mates. It can also serve as a stimulation for their sexual desire, an attempt for them to relieve themselves of their sexual desire.
And lastly, humping can turn into an addiction and a habit that the dog cannot shake off. We will discuss these reasons in detail later in the article.
Female Dogs Asserting Domination Over Something:
When a dog wants to showcase the bossy predisposition against an object or a person, they might break out humping from their bag of tricks. humping is considered to be an innate behavioral attribute among all dogs, who are considered to be extremely hierarchical and territorial animals.
However, saying that asserting dominance is the only motive behind humping, it does not seem to make much sense as the dogs are much complex and versatile animals at the same time. Anxiety, stress, emotional outburst can manifest itself in the shape of humping, as opposed to dominance expression being the only motive.
When the dogs want to express dominance, they tend to expose their teeth and growl. This doesn’t sit well with the domination expression narrative for humping. Humping is more associated with the emotional status and nature of the dog and what triggers this outburst. Whatever happens before the dog goes on a humping spree, will tell you a lot about what is causing this behavior.
If a dog tries to hump your leg, she is trying to assert domination on you and you need to immediately stop her from doing so. You need to remind the dog, that you are the boss and in-charge, something that she should not forget.
Humping Other Dogs or Litter Mates to Assert Dominance:
This is one of the main reasons behind such behavior from a female dog. When a female pup indulges in this practice, it could simply be a part of their playing. Pups love playing and humping just becomes a part of it.
Is also considered to be a part of natural learning process of sexual behavior and an orientation into the adulthood. These reasons are important for the growth of a puppy into well learned grown up female dog who will be able to bear litters. It is a natural part of evolution and continual of species. Although generally humping can be classified both into a healthy or an unhealthy behavior.
Sometimes humping turns into an obsession at an early age, which can lead to constant indulgence in this activity. If a puppy starts getting carried away when involved in humping, it would be a great idea to divert her attention to an activity that will involve her physically.
It can be the normal puppy games, or you can start teaching the basic commands. Something that will grab her attention like her favorite toys, taking her to play in the yard or training her obedience commands will serve as positive reinforcement to eradicate the humping behavior in your female puppy. However, you need to be careful about shaming the dog over humping, as it can have negative effects on her behavior.
Humping as Sexual Stimulation:
This may sound odd and surprising but it is true that the dogs hump because they like the feeling. They do it on purpose because it acts as a stimulation for sexual desire.
Although this behavior is largely attributed to the male dogs, it is found in the female dogs too. The life cycle of living being involves mating between male and female sexes of the specie to produce an offspring, and it is a circle that goes on. In animals, mating is symbolized when the females are in heat.
When a female dog is in heat, the desire can become intense and they can start humping other dogs. When a female dog in heat interacts with other wandering dogs, she feels the urge to hump them and achieve sexual stimulation.
Humping to Relieve Irritation:
If the female dog is suffering from some kind of irritation around the genitals, she could turn to humping in order to get rid of it. If it is an occasional occurrence, then it is not a big deal, however, it has the potential to turn into the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.
It will go from an attempt to relieve irritation to a psychological problem. If that is the case, then you will have to take your female dog to a vet. The vet will prescribe ointment for soothing your dog’s urge and easing the irritation. Along with the prescribed medicine, the activities that can grab attention of a dog can also be used.
Humping Turns into an Addiction:
When a dog is engaged in humping, it releases the pleasure chemicals from the brain cover were responsible for the feelings of satisfaction and joy. This has a similar effect on a female dog as a drug addict has when they are shooting needles or smoking a pipe.
Just like the human junkies, the dog becomes addicted to this feeling. They will start getting a buzz out of it and no effort is done to correct this behavior, the dog will meet the same fate as an addict.
We hope this article helps you understand the behavior of why female dogs hump.
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