When your dog is humping everything in sight
Pet humping can start off funny, but be careful of health concerns
I hadn’t been in their home for more than 10 minutes before the Labrador Retriever puppy scratched his owners’ arms, tried to leap over a baby gate, snatched a pet toy from an older Lab, and paced back-and-forth trying to get to me. I wasn’t quite scared. However, I was concerned about how I would manage to keep an excitable 50-pound puppy busy for several days with his 60-pound-roommate growing mildly irritated by these antics. Finally one of the owners looked at the puppy and snapped, “Don’t embarrass me!”
That Black Lab puppy looked over at her, walked over to the couch and started humping the hell out of the couch pillows. I could no longer keep my composure. I almost fell out of my seat laughing at the timing of it all. Right at that moment, I accepted the dog sitting job. Even if these two dogs gave me a run for my money, I knew this would be one of my most memorable dog sitting jobs — and it was. (The puppy bit my toe and drank tea from my mug.)
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn a percentage for each purchase with my referral links.
My own Lab was never neutered, and he went to town humping this blanket my parents gave him as a puppy. Completely out of nowhere, he’d just go at it with that blanket, then ignore that bulky piece of cloth for several days. Maybe a few weeks later and after a fresh wash, he was back at it again. While pet health sites will commonly say that dogs that are neutered or spayed live longer — somewhere between 7 years versus 9 years — the average life span of a Labrador Retriever is 10 to 12 years. And my never-neutered Lab died of old age at 13, so I’m not completely sold on that idea.
The good news is the American Kennel Club confirms that humping is a very common behavior, linked to harmless expressions of excitement. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also gives it a reasonable pass, confirming that, “If your dog mounts infrequently (once or twice a day at most) and it isn’t bothersome to you, other people or other dogs, it’s not necessary to stop his behavior.”
Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if/when your dog is going to do it though. Just because a dog licks, pants, whines or rubs against a person does not mean he’s going to go to town on their legs. Could he? Yes. Does he? In my case, I don’t recall my Lab ever humping any human being; he had a monogamous relationship with that blanket.