Male dog being constantly humped by others

You might want to start your own thread, but personally, Iago has had this issue since he was a puppy. It’s at the point where he gets followed by males and even females everywhere, even on walks. In a way, it’s a bit of a pain sometimes, but it’s also quite a positive thing because dogs that are often considered aggressive don’t even think about attacking him.

Anyway, it’s hard to explain why it happens to one dog more than another. My mum’s dog cried for two days non-stop just to be with my dog the first time they met. Basically, I reckon it’s pheromones, physical appearance, or behaviour? On the flip side, my dog—who is constantly getting mounted—does the exact same thing to our tortoiseshell cat. Why? It’s a complete mystery to me too.

Mind you, it’s true that you sometimes see scenes that look almost like Olympic wrestling, where the mounting position is basically the aim of the game, so to speak.

In Mushroom’s case, I’m thinking hormones, pheromones, and all that. Is he neutered? If it’s always at the same park, it’s not impossible that some dogs who are fairly familiar with each other have learned by imitation. Then, every time he shows up again, the same old circus starts up. It’s almost as if he’s been labelled by his mates. It only takes one instigator who generally has only one thing on their mind, and a certain dynamic on the day to trigger it.

It’s also worth noting if he’s being mounted by females or males in roughly equal measure. I don’t think a female would mount another based on scent, and even less so a male; in those cases, it really looks more like play. Just a bunch of monkeys copying each other.

Maybe also keep an eye on the sequence of events. If, when meeting a new dog, there’s sniffing followed by mounting—along the lines of "mmm, he smells good, I’m going to hop on"—or if it’s preceded by play.

This question has already been asked and the answer is no. ;)

Is the dog neutered?

It often happens in cases like this

with my lot, when I’ve had this problem... usually the one on the bottom makes it clear they’re not happy about it and it ends pretty quickly...

Hi Xxchloéxx,

The animal monarchy?

I’m not sure I follow. What do you mean by that?

Hi Mushroom,

Is a dog mounting another one an act of dominance? Yes and no.

No, if by dominance we mean that the one mounting is trying to subdue the other. Yes, if by dominance we mean they are trying to show they’re the top dog.

In many cases, dog play is geared towards there being a winner and a loser.

Whether it’s games of chase, play-fighting, or games involving a resource (toys, bones, balls, etc.). You could actually say that the goal of dogs playing is the same as any other game. In most cases, playing involves having fun, but it’s also about winning or losing. Because of this, play is one of the best environments for learning.

When a dog mounts another, it can be to start a game. It's a bit of a provocative way of saying: "You got caught, I’m the strongest." It’s quite common then to see the dog who was mounted react pretty quickly to shake the other one off and start chasing them to try and mount them back. The game has just begun.

Sometimes the dog being mounted just lets it happen without reacting. Is it because they don’t want to play and/or they know in advance they won’t win? Or perhaps the opposite—they’re so confident that they don’t see any threat in the behaviour? These are all possibilities. It’s not always easy to decode this kind of behaviour.

In any case, this behaviour is rarely an attempt at mating.

Male dogs rarely have an erection when they mount another dog (it can happen afterwards due to friction). Male dogs do it to each other. Females can also mount (both males and females) but less often than males. Could it be because they have less of a competitive streak and therefore less interest in that side of the game?

Even puppies mount each other. This just goes to show even more that it’s a request for interaction rather than mimicking mating.

As for why your dog seems to systematically attract all the local males only to end up being mounted, I must admit I don’t have an explanation.

I can try to explain the behaviour (as I did above), but it’s hard to explain why it happens every single time. It’s actually quite intriguing.

If you could get a video of it, that would be a great starting point for us to look into it.

There’s nothing to worry about; you just need to let the others mount him. It might seem a bit cruel, but when he’s had enough, he’ll let them know.

It’s just a way of showing him that he’s lower down the ranks than the others.

It’s just the animal pecking order! :)