I adopted a male dog recently he is constantly mounting my older female dog who is spayed. She is bothered and is not liking being around this guy at all. How do I make him stop?
— Kanika
Hi Kanika,
Mounting behaviour by dogs could be due to either medical or behavioural reasons. As with all cases, first thing is to eliminate any hormonal and medical reasons for the humping. Talk to your veterinarian and discuss with him your options for neutering him if he is not neutered. This is important and can help you eliminate unnecessary frustrations of your dog.
But, neutering alone may not solve the problem entirely. In many cases, even neutered or spayed dogs mount and hump. This is because the general motive for humping other dogs or humans and even objects is to establish a sense of superiority and is not always sexual.
In other words, this is a sign of dominance. The social structure in the canine world is hierarchial and each dog has a place in this hierarchy. This is usually determined by size, physical ability, and temperament. Mounting is an exhibition of the dog’s ambition to be on the higher rung of authority. In other words, your dog is just trying to convey that he is of higher importance than your older dog, and in some cases even you. He is trying to establish a prioritised claim over all the things around and in his point of view, he is the boss of you. This indirectly means he is not going to obey you willingly.
This is where a good basic obedience training establishes a rule of hierarchy in the household and creates a leadership role for you in the mind of the dog. This ensures a situation of mutual respect and confidence for the rest of the dogs in your household that you are in control.
Correcting his behaviour immediately and being consistent in these corrections is essential. More important is to keep in mind to not encourage this behaviour by rewarding his disobedience or bad behaviour. It is important to acknowledge that discipline is an important aspect of your dog’s upbringing. Enforce the rules at all times and all levels of the household.
Consult a professional behaviourist for help if the problem persists. If you have any queries about pets’ behaviour, send them to pet.faqs@gmail.com