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sjane77
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29-06-2009, 04:40 PM

Hello & Help! (puppy humping)

Hi there,

I have a 15 week old Bichon Friese, who is gorgeous in every way except his new hobby of humping every bit of bare arm or leg that comes his way. This seems to be a recent thing since the sun came out and everyone is wearing sleeveless tops and shorts. At first it was funny but not when he is digging his claws in as well! I honestly thought he was far too young for this but obviously not! Any tips from any Bichon or other dog owners to calm him down? Other than this, he is brilliant. He is toilet trained!!! Learned quite a few commands, gobbles his kibble food and is lovely and friendly with everyone (just a little bit too friendly!!!) He is starting training classes at the end of the week and I know these are to help him learned but I am terrified he will get thrown out (as in Marley & Me)!

Any ideas really appreciated.

Brgds

Sarah & Alfie
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Meg
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29-06-2009, 04:51 PM
Hello Sarah and welcome to Dogsey

I have a 15 week old Bichon Friese, who is gorgeous in every way except his new hobby of humping every bit of bare arm or leg that comes his way. This seems to be a recent thing since the sun came out and everyone is wearing sleeveless tops and shorts. At first it was funny but not when he is digging his claws in as well! I honestly thought he was far too young for this but obviously not! Any tips from any Bichon
Puppies often get over excited when playing and exhibit inappropriate behave like humping, people are often amused/embarrassed and laugh or pay attention to the puppy in some way, so the behaviour is rewarded and the puppy continues to do it.

It is best to either ignore the behaviour , turn your back on the dog/ no word no eye contact, or distract with a toy. If you do this the puppy should eventually stop doing it.
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Chicos-Mummy
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29-06-2009, 05:24 PM
My Dachsie boy Chico developed the habit of humping my draught excluder when he was small.

I've heard that humping is a way of showing dominance?

My vet said its something that needs to be nipped in the bud, and also that castration helps in serious cases. Obviously not until they reach the correct age!
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sjane77
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29-06-2009, 11:06 PM
Hi,
Thanks for the replies. I have been ignoring it and walking away but he gets so possessed, this can last up to an hour until he tires himself out trying. It makes sense to me about the dominance theory since he does get worse when he is not getting a lot of attention. Also tried lots of exercise but don't want to over-tire him in case its damaging?
Oh well, will keep trying!

Thanks for the posts

Sarah
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Meg
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29-06-2009, 11:30 PM
Originally Posted by sjane77 View Post
Hi,
Thanks for the replies. I have been ignoring it and walking away but he gets so possessed, this can last up to an hour until he tires himself out trying. It makes sense to me about the dominance theory since he does get worse when he is not getting a lot of attention. Also tried lots of exercise but don't want to over-tire him in case its damaging?
Oh well, will keep trying!

Thanks for the posts

Sarah
Hi Sarah his getting worse when he doesn't get attention has nothing to do with Dominance (an overused outdated theory and this opinion is backed up by recent research from Bristol University) .He has learnt the behaviour elicited a reaction from you /others so it is repeated (you said yourself ''At first it was funny'' so maybe you laughter and gave attention).

Also if you start to ignore a behaviour which was previously rewarded with attention it may get slightly worse to begin with. This is an 'extinction burst' similar to when someone says something and they think you haven't heard so they say it louder. Suddenly the behaviour doesn't bring the attention so the dog keeps on trying but should stop if ignored or diverted.

The latest research on dominance ...
http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2009/6361.html
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Cassius
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02-07-2009, 09:00 AM
HI,

I agree with wha's been said so far.

Yiannis only started humping things (absolutely anything) after he'd been neutered and the hot weather seems to have made it much worse (not least because I've also taken on my 4th dog since then!).

I ignored his behaviour to begin with but his humping was tiring ME out eventually so I decided a distraction technique may be more effective. If he starts to hump something I ignore him. Every now and then he will stop and it's when he stops I distract him with his training toy (favourite dumbell).

Now he's learned that if he humps he gets nothing and no attention. He's also learned he'll be rewarded for stopping with playtime.

If you try this you have to get the timing right. There's no point in waiting until he's started humping and then distracting him. He'll associate the reward with the humping in that case.
If ignoring him doesn't work, either let him tire himself out if you can stand it that long or try distracting him. It doesn't have to be with toys or playtime - that's just what I did. There are many more ways of distracting a dog.

Laura xx
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lozzibear
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02-07-2009, 10:26 AM
jake is 14 weeks and he does this, he has been doing it since he was 10 weeks luckily he hasnt yet done it on a person, just his 2 favourite toys i thought he was way too young as well, but i just ignore him when he does it. he only does it when he gets really excited when playing with the toy. im just hoping he doesnt get worse but he will be getting neutured when he gets a bit older.
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