lkbolin

Hello all. We have a fixed male poodle that is constantly trying to mount our 160 pound Great Pyrenees. What causes this behavior? Is there any cause for concern? Should we stop it? Video of him at the link below.

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Thanks,
Lee

fjm

You don't say whether your GP is male or female, or whether he/she objects. I would consider it cause for concern if the GP is upset by it, if your poodle tries the same behaviour with other dogs who are upset by it, or if it upsets you. For dogs it is just another way of filling the time, I suspect. At 160 lbs, no doubt your GP is more than capable of telling him off - if you want to change the habit, distraction and reward for stopping are probably the best methods.

More on humping here:The Down & Dirty on Humping: Sex, Status, and Beyond | Dog Star Daily

My two females get hooked on humping games when one of them is in season - I rather discourage it, as I have visitors who find it embarrassing. As soon as their hormones calm down, they forget all about it till next time.

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lkbolin

Hi FJM,
The GP is a male and almost completely ignores our poodle. I, like you, just find it annoying when we have guests. Good to know it's just mostly business as usual for them. The GP is a great big teddy bear, though he's not been fixed. He never has any type of dominating behavior.

JE-UK

For me, humping is one of those behaviours where I just really can't be bothered to understand why the dog is doing it. Some dogs seem to do it more than others, and many dogs will attempt it as a sort of bullying challenge to other dogs, but I don't like it, so I don't allow it. It's easy enough to teach a competing behaviour, i.e. if the dog is lying quietly in his bed or fetching a ball, he can't hump. Mine is an only dog, but went through an annoying period of humping his bed. I just trained him to do something else.

Good luck!

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