Still working on Donna dog’s mounting behaviour

Eight months ago, I wrote about why my dog humps people/ other dogs. My conclusion was that she was not socialised to behave appropriately in a situation involving a lot of dogs. At the shelter, where there are a lot of dogs, it was normal for her to be over-excited and spinning in circles non-stop.

Subsequently, we’ve only been exposing her to places with less dogs, and hoping to slowly train calm behaviours from there. And then slowly expose her to situations with more dogs. But that’s easier said then done, because it’s really hard to control the number of dogs she is exposed to in a systematic or planned way. And sometimes, the human is not very consistent as well :P

So for a while we sent her to daycare, where she could socialise with other dogs in a supervised environment. The daycare said that Donna did not show any mounting behaviour for that period.

I’m wondering if the dog has learnt that mounting is not preferred but only in specific places like the daycare. That is, she has not generalised that mounting is not preferred in all circumstances.

I’m thinking this because this month, she has been showing mounting behaviour at the new places we went to. Although, I’m thinking there are different reasons for the behaviour as well.

Mounting Behaviour at T.A.Z. Cafe, Saturday

Take for instance at the newly opened T.A.Z. cafe. There were two active dogs there playing with each other. And Donna really wanted to play with them.

But they were totally engrossed with each other, and all Donna could do was follow them around and watch them play.

I suppose eventually, after getting tired of watching from the sidelines, she tried to mount the bigger dog in the pair to get his/her attention.

Only it got my attention instead, so I started to recall her… and recall her… and recall her every time she tried to mount the dog.

In this picture, Donna is by my side and can only watch the dogs play. I suppose it became more of a negative punishment (called away from other dogs = boring) than a positive reinforcement (called away from other dogs = get food reward for responding to the recall) because she didn’t really like the food for dog we bought for her at T.A.Z cafe … oops. But she got the idea and stopped trying to mount the dog. It helped that other dogs came in later who were happy to play with her.

I have to say, now that I’m looking at the pictures again, I do wonder if the dachshund was totally happy playing with the lighter dog or if the dachshund was trying to get away. I wasn’t paying as much attention to them as I was to Donna, unfortunately. But I do know that the owner examined the dachshund later on and was unhappy to find bite/scratch marks on the dog.

So please do supervise your dog when he/she is playing with strange dogs. :)

Mounting Behaviour at Marina Barrage, Sunday

The next day at Marina Barrage, Donna had a great time playing with her new Japanese spitz friend.

Her friend tried to mount her, but she didn’t try to mount back.

But later on when a male border collie arrived, she got very interested and mounted him within minutes of checking him out. That got the border collie worried.

I’m not sure how Donna decides to mount one dog but not the other. I can only guess that perhaps as the morning went by, she got progressively more excited with all the activity going around. I can’t say for sure though, because I was distracted with the activity around as well.

Donna has some experience with border collies at the daycare, and from what I hear, they don’t really play with her. The last border collie we met was on a walk at night. The border collie was barking madly and dragged his owner all the way to meet Donna. That took us by surprise and gave me a bad fright as Donna was screaming… but it turns out from excitement rather than from fear.

I think more exposure and observation is necessary before I can draw any informed guesses as to her motivations.

But needless to say, Donna spent the rest of the birthday party doing time out away from the other dogs.

The border collie’s owner remarked that if the other dog is ok with it, the humping shouldn’t be an issue. And I agree with that.

Gary Landsberg, DVM, a veterinary behaviorist in Ontario, Canada, says mounting is common play behavior in puppies, and is even normal in the play of older dogs if it’s not taken to extremes. “You’ll often see one dog mount another, then a few minutes later they’ll switch off and the other dog will mount the first dog,” Landsberg says. “It’s a common play gesture.”

It’s done by males and females, even by dogs that have been neutered or spayed, he says. “It’s a play behavior that dogs do because no one has told them it’s not acceptable,” Landsberg said. “It can become enjoyable or a normal part of the dog’s day, so it keeps doing it. It’s the same as jumping up or barking at the door.” – pets.webmd.com

But in Donna’s case, time out is necessary for the following reasons: –

• She was over excited and restless and didn’t try to stop mounting the border collie despite being recalled. Unlike at T.A.Z. cafe, this was an environment with more dogs. I do not want her to stay in that over-excited state.
• The border collie was worried and I shouldn’t let Donna give him more stress.
• In situations involving new dogs and owners we are meeting, even if the dog is OK, I do not know if the owner is OK with it.
• While humping may not be an issue if the dogs are good friends, I’m not sure if it sends Donna a confused message. Why is she allowed to mount some dogs but not others?

So as a rule, Donna is recalled when she starts to show mounting behaviour. And if she shows it repeatedly despite being recalled. She gets to do time right next to the human. :P

It’s a bummer for the human to sit out the action at the party, but I believe in being consistent with the dog. (Note: Mr P informs me that I didn’t really sit out for that long. Haha. )

Anyway, I’m thinking I should probably find something to attach her lead to some body part so I can walk around with her with me unencumbered for next time. That is, once she has calmed down sufficiently using the matwork, rather than just spend the time sitting on the mat the whole time.