How to stop a dog from mounting another?

Never punish your dog for humping – it’s a normal and natural behaviour for them, so they won’t understand why you’re telling them off. Socialise from a young age – socialising your dog with others from a young age will help teach them how to play and interact appropriately. Neutering – neutering your dog can help if their humping is hormone related – this usually has more of an effect on males than females. Exercise – ensure your dog gets enough exercise to get rid of any excess energy. Remove any triggers – if your dog humps to relive stress, remove the stress from their life. Distraction – if your dog humps to get you, or other dogs to play, it’s important to teach them that the fun stops when they start to hump. When they start to mount, distract them with a treat, ask them to sit, and give them the treat. You will need to repeat this every time it happens. If your dog continues to hump, you may need to remove them from the situation for a minute or two, to calm them down.

If it’s a sexual behaviour, desexing the dog is the easiest solution and should result in success in most cases though it may take a few months for them to stop totally. Punishment such as hitting, pulling them away or yelling will do almost nothing and may actually make the problem worse, especially if it makes the dog feel more anxious. If the dog humps only occasionally, ignore it or distract the dog into another activity such as chasing a ball or running around. Distraction is a good option. Make a loud, sudden noise such as a clap or high pitched, excited squeal and then encourage the dog to do something more socially acceptable such as play tug, chase a ball or run around outside. Daily physical activity helps reduce this behaviour in very active dogs as well. For a dog that displays a pattern of humping such as with visitors or at the park, use training and rewards to gain control over the situation. Undertake dog training so that he learns basic commands which can be utilised during these excitable moments. Once the dog has learnt these skills, ask a willing friend to help continue the training at home. Have some treats ready and the dog in the house when the friend knocks on the door. Control the dog using commands and rewards before opening the door and greeting the friend. Keep the dog on a lead if necessary. Continue with the friend in different situations, all the time rewarding the dog for positive behaviour. After several ‘practice visits’ you will hopefully be able to invite guests into the home again without fear of embarrassment.

If the other dog doesn’t care and the other people don’t either, the mounting need not be an issue, especially if it’s short-lived. You may need to try a few tactics to get them to stop. Interrupting a humping dog is easier said than done. If your dog won’t come when called or back off when told to ‘leave it’ you may have to go to them and gently take them away by the collar or with a lead. Then, redirect them to another dog or person to play with, try to get them interested in a toy, or remove them from the situation entirely. Assess how the other dog (and their person) feels about it. A good guideline is that it’s only play if everyone involved is having fun. That means you should intervene and stop the behaviour if a dog is correcting your dog, trying to avoid the interaction or clearly not having a good time. If the humping is relentless or if the recipient of this behaviour keeps trying to escape, you should intervene and break it up.