Hello Blogland,
I was hoping to enlist your help today. One of my dear friends Laura has turned into a dog magnet. Laura and her husband Don have built a retirement home in a rural area; one morning they were surprised by a dog in their yard. Long story short Candy; a sweet little pittie mix, has wrapped herself around their hearts.
Two weeks ago another dog showed up, exhibiting signs of being totally starved and having recently had a litter of puppies. Laura and hubby were getting ready to return to their home, but happily fed the dog two large bowls of food and left some food out as they left. Their one week trip home turned into two weeks but when they got back and Candy had scouted the yard, guess who she brought with her? Yes, the other dog. So far no sign of the puppies.
Laura and Don have pretty much decided to keep this little gal, but so far haven’t invited her into the house (they want to have her checked by the vet first and see if she is chipped) but she has been hanging around the deck. Laura reached out to me about introducing a new dog to the pack and also questioning some of the behaviors she is seeing. Originally Don was calling her Sandy, but they have since decided that is NOT the best name for her, I am calling her Twinkle Toes because she does a little dance when she sees them.
These are snippets of our FB conversation.
A couple of Laura’s concerns were Candy growling or barking in a not friendly way when they were feeding the new dog; and Candy going “nuts” when the new dog jumps on Laura.
My response was enlist Don’s help when feeding, one feed the new dog while the other treats and pets Candy giving positive reassurance that it is ok. Switch it off so it is not the same person feeding either dog. That way Candy doesn’t feel like the new dog is being favored over her.
Reminder I am NOT an animal behavior specialist and if it gets out of control you should consult a professional or find someone who can take Twinkle. Generally they can work it out themselves.
The next correspondence went like this:
Don wants to know if you know WHY these two female dogs keep humping each other. Also, they seem to be playing BUT they are always biting AT each other. They lick each others noses, but then they start, for lack of a better word, wrestling. They each grab the others hind leg OR they seem to be biting each others lower jaw. No one whimpers or yikes or acts like it bothers them – it probably bothers me more. But it seems like odd behavior.
My response:
Humping is done for one reason and one reason only, it has nothing to do with sexual, the humper is trying to show dominance. They are basically trying to establish who is the “top dog” no pun intended.
My dogs “play” the same way, some day I will get a video of the two of them playing. The noises are unbelievable, they play with their mouths open and often times almost look like they are french kissing. They run and wrestle about and at times they have looked like two deer challenging each other; chest to chest. When Sampson frustrates Delilah, she goes for the back of his hind leg. BUT here is the key, the first time one of them yips the playing stops.
It sounds to me like they are just establishing the pecking order and (without seeing it) I’m guessing they are playing. Some dogs play a bit rougher than others, but I don’t (as long as no-one is getting hurt) think it is anything to worry about.
So there you have it. I know some of you have more than one dog and some of you foster, so you are very aware of what transpires when a new dog joins the pack. I’m not entirely convinced I introduced Delilah in the correct way (but it did turn out) so I am appealing to you for your advice and thoughts.
Laura, Don, Candy, Twinkle and I would be ever so grateful.
Your friends better get de-magnetized or they’ll have to go back to work to earn enough for kibble. 🙂
But seriously, I’ll add one point to the humping situation. Humping is often an expression of overstimulation. If dogs have too much going on around them, they will hump each other. I think of it as the doggie equivalent of a child rocking back and forth.
Honey, who is a very mild and not the least bit dominating dog, will get excited by her stuffed butterfly and make mild humping motions on it.
It’s probably a good idea to distract the dogs from humping each other so things don’t get out of hand. Loud clapping or calling “puppy, puppy, puppy” in a loud voice might help.
I look forward to more updates. This sounds like fun.
I had no idea humping was over stimulation, I’ve only heard it was dominance; thanks for clarifying that. I guess it explains why Sampson tries to hump Delilah in the car!
Great advice Pamela, thank you.
OMG – I think you might be right. It does seem to happen when they’ve been “wrestling” . We’ll watch that.
Oh, yeah, I’m thinking there HAS to be a limit to just how many dogs we can have . . . I told Don (hubby) to stop saying, “honey, we have a dog”. I’m thinking he’s sending out vibes with that statement. 😀
I’ve always said I would welcome any stray, and when we moved to the country, I really thought we’d have them showing up here, but in the 4 years, we’ve had nothing, not even a cat…
But I think you’ve given some good and spot on advice. I would just make sure that each dog is treated equally, given the same attention, etc. I also agree about their getting really excited. I would suggest to try and keep things a little more subdued and not make a big deal about anything, it may also help to not start a fight…
Let us know how it goes!!
Thanks Kim, I thought you might have some advice for my friend. I think you may have jinxed yourself, and perhaps now you will have a stray. Or you could move closer to Laura, she seems to have an abundance of them!
Seriously, thank you for the comment, I know you’ve added a to your pack recently; you are an old pro at it!
When Candy first came and we took her to the vet, they told us that people up here are ALWAYS just “drop off” their dogs to let them fend for themselves. That’s just soooo sad. I have NO idea how many of these “strays” are going to find us, but it’s just not possible to chase them off when their ribs are sticking out and they come slinking up with their poor tails tucked so far under them. It truly MELTS your heart. It’s a good thing we have 6 acres . . . or maybe not. 😀
I agree with overstimulation. My experience is with my four dogs, and lots of rescue/shelter dogs. I’ve never known humping to explain dominance but it always seems to accompany a high arousal/excitement.
Why am I the only one who doesn’t know this? I would have sworn it was dominance! Thanks for the comment Jen, I hope your little Buckley is on the mend.
Jodi, you are NOT the only one . . . 😀
hey, I’m not Anonymous – it’s Laura 😀
hey, I’m not Anonymous . . . I’m Laura 😀
Thanks Jodi!
I think I learned the overstimulation reason years ago when I couldn’t understand why female humped my male shiba. I think I called a trainer and she explained overstimulation. She never even mentioned dominance, which is what i was convinced of. But it made sense… it was usually during a walk (Sooks favorite activity) and after meeting new dogs (exciting).
I have heard of both dominance and over stimulation. Did I miss if these are spayed females, if not it could be hormonal. I know with my girls this only happens when they are in season.
Good advice on your part to your friends.
Thank you Misty. I never asked about Candy but the new dog appears to have recently birthed so I’m thinking no for her.
When I (Frankie Furter) get very much excited … esp. with company that have Mini Two Leggers… which I LOVE… I get… EXCITED… if you get my drift.
Frankie, I’m shocked! LOL I can’t believe you….didn’t you take the pawm-eat-a-kit class?
Storm tries to hump Thunder all the time. Its dominance from her plain and simple. We discourage it because we don’t want something to escalate or get out of hand, (it never has but there is a weight difference so we err on the side of caution).
As for the growling/barking, I am wondering if that is protective type behavior? The new dog may be making Candy feel uncomfortable, especially when it jumps on Laura. I think Laura may need to make sure Candy knows that she doesn’t need to protect, Laura can do it herself.
Delilah doesn’t usually hump Sampson but he does at times (mostly in the car or around other dogs) try to hump her.
I usually don’t let them either, just because most people say “you horn dog.” Like it’s something sexual.