Any dog psychologists out there?

[haele]

Two weeks ago, our 40 lb 6 year old female mutt just developed a new habit - humping.

She'll grab the leg of a person who's sitting down and rubbing her belly with a foot, mount the leg, and start going to town, grinning all the while. It's funny as all get out, but we're wondering the following -

a. Why would she start doing such a thing now? We can't think of any sort of triggering event, no new or odd diet, no meds, no hormones (she's spayed), no change in routine...

b. How would she learn to do this? Even though we have male cats around, she's not witness to any of their little dominance exercises, and she's not around any male dogs for any length of time.

c. Could this possibly be related to that scratch reaction dogs have at pressure points on their sides?

It's funny and she seems to be having fun herself, but is rather perplexing. I haven't heard of any female dog doing this before.

The Laz and Haele household would like to know if this is a common activity in dogs, or if we have yet another homosexual critter in our household - not that there's anything wrong with that... :D

Haele

[Leilani]

1. Sorry, I can t help...

Just had to respond...your post cracked me up!

I have had 3 different dogs, & they have all done stupid things!!!

I love dogs!!!

[havocmom]

2. Is the dog fairly dominate?

the humping behavior is sometimes used to show dominance, though usually via doing to another K-9. And yes, I have seen evidence of homosexuality and bisexuality in fur friends. Maybe she has come out? Or maybe it just feels good to be the boss dog!

Also, spayed females can have hormone changes, ovaries not the only place hormones come from. My sister's vet put her spayed female (also about 6 years old) on hormones to correct a piddeling problem. The dog is pretty 'bitchy' too and reports are she has sweetened up a bit with the pills.

I had a sweet little dog that wouldn't take shit from anybody and would lift her leg to mark territory if a male made the mistake of coming into her yard uninvited. She was sweet as pie to any humans and critters she invited to play, and Attila the Dog to any party crashers. The aggression did become more pronounced after she was spayed. Most males get less aggressive after they see Dr. Snip. Go figure.

Edited to add: The 90 pound hound has a blanket he is, ahem, very fond of, and he will bunch it up and hump on it with a very happy face. My daughter threatened to get him a blow up doggy friend. He never really gets nasty with the blanket, and always wants to cuddle it too. He's a very romatnic guy. He will do the dominance hump thing with his dog pal who will put up with the pup thinking he is the boss and then set him down a peg. It is very often a dominance posture thing and my mutt is a definate Alpha dog. His pal is a beta dog but older and has a bad hip; he tolerates my dog thinking he is the boss until he get annoyed, then he makes my youngster behave and be polite while they play.

[haele]

3. She may try to dominate occasionally...

But heck, even the (male) cockitiel and the three (male) rats ends up dominating her. The two cats beat her up and get her in trouble on a regular basis. She's just a sweet, dumb (actually she can be somewhat intelligent but she's so stubborn she tends to be dumb) part aussie shepard, part yellow lab, and part heeler mutt who loves kids, kisses and cuddles - and barks at every single imaginary monster lurking behind the front door.

We're just curious. As I said before, there doesn't seem to have been any trigger, other than possibly one of the cats having a bladder infection and peeing everywhere until the meds kicked in and he started feeling better.

Haele

[dweller]

4. i believe

i shoult zee her daily for intensif therapy. It vould be best if you vere not present, and your trust in this matter vill hasten a return of your lovely family member as a quiet, satisfied and loving, complacent participant to your household.

Dr. W. Ooki