CAN WE STOP A MALE PUPPY FROM HUMPING?

Dear Jubilee,
We have a four-month male Airedale. He has a terrible habit of humping on us and on guests. Today he humped the four year old daughter of a friend of mine. I have had other Airedales and have never had this problem. How can I stop this behavior? What does it mean?
Thank you,
Annoyed


Dear Annoyed,
Humping is not about sex. It is done by both males and females (believe it or not), and it is a dominance attempt, not a sexual thing.

I had a male that at eight weeks grabbed the hind leg of a large adult Airedale and started humping him! The adult remained cool: like who do you think you're fooling!

Our oldest female occasionally humps the others. this doesn't happen often but there are times when she seems to think she has to make her dominance known. Other times, both seem to do it as play.

So the dog humping the child may be a way of telling the child that the dog is above the child in your pack (your pack should be adults at the top, children in the middle, dogs at the bottom).

When the dog humps, do not worry about his psyche. Make a loud noise (a negative marker), help him down, and just hold him there for a few seconds.

I have had several people with young children call about both males and females doing this to a small child: the puppy is testing his or her limits and/or trying to figure out his or her position in the pack. This is something you have to help the dog understand: Adults, Children, then dogs.

One good tack to change this behavior permanently is to make the dog dependent on the child. For example, have the child feed the dog his regular meals (that means put the dog's dish on the floor with you right there, and teach the dog to sit when your child tells him to sit before he gets his food).

Involve your child in training the dog -- take your child and the dog to a beginner obedience class and let the child do the training. All these things say very clearly to the dog that the child is one of the dog's masters in your pack (the family), and the dog needs to be mindful of that or it won't get fed, won't get attention, etc. It also teaches the puppy to respect your child and to obey your child.This can result in a very close bond between your child and the dog, a bond that your child will always cherish.

As you think of ways to handle this, remember that the dog will interpret any strong negative handling and yelling as attention; to the dog, that attention is a reward; and you get the dog behavior that you reward.

When the dog jumps on you, turn your back, move away, and don't give the dog any attention until the dog sits with four feet on the ground.When the dog jumps on you or anyone, make a quick, loud "eck" sound: that sound becomes a negative marker signifying that the dog needs to behave. Instead of "Eck!", some people will say something like "Excuse me!" or "I beg your pardon?" -- anything that says you (the dog) are on slippery ground and you need to behave . . . Now!.



I hope these hints help.
Jubilee