Please Help: What Do I Do With A Leg Humper?!

[Chi_lover]

I need some help. My 12 week old Chihuahua boy keeps trying to hump arms and legs. We've only had him a few days and in the last 2 days he's tried it about 5 or 6 times. We push him off but I'm not sure what else to do! Why would he be doing this at such a young age? He is too small to be desexed yet but I really didn't want to do that as I wanted to show him

[Nekhbet]

Hehehehe silly little sod. Sounds like excitement/anxiety or even dominance. If he starts this then what you are doing is right, just push him off and then maybe stick him in a sin bin, or ignore him until he settles down.

Its not a sexual things, he is too young for that so dont get grossed out

[Chi_lover]

Thanks for you reply.

Good well I will just keep pushing him away and put him in another room for a while when he does it so he learns that we won't play with him when he's doing that. I was thinking that maybe it was a dominance thing. Because the first time he did it was when he met my flatmate for the first time. She had been away for three days so I thought maybe it could be his way of saying 'Hey it's my house' or something like that. Since then he has done it to my mother when she came to visit and then me! I hope he learns quickly.

Edited October 5, 2006 by Chi_lover

[peibe]

Growl at him like an angry dog when ever he does it and make sure he sees your teeth

He is more than likely being dominant and you need to teach him you are the boss

Chi can be a very dominant breed. Remember not to pick him up and carry him above your heart, it will also make him think he is better than you

[caffiend42]

Hump him back :D

[Teebs]

I redirect - Atlas has only tried it on me a few times, and also used to steal all my pillows to hump :D

I would grab him and tell him no, then put him in his crate - he now will hump... but ONLY the bedding in the crate!

Kaos has done it ONCE, to Atlas, got a bit out of motion and fell over she never did it again!

[Ivanandemma]

The behaviour you are discribing is not an excitement based behaviour, nor is it a sexual based behaviour, since your puppy will not reach sexual maturity until around 6 months of age. This behaviour is purely a dominace based behaviour. It is common behaviour for puppies to exhibit whilst they are learning were they stand in our (family) dominace hierachy. However saying that it is normal does not mean you should ignore this behaviour. Your puppy is basically testing the water to see if he can dominate you. At this point we need to start to reinforce in your pups mind that you are the 'top dog' and those in your family must do this to, especially if you have children. There are many different ways to enforce dominance, and no of them need to be nasty or insight agression on your behalf - showing him your teeth for example. One of the most effective ways to reinforce the correct relationship between yourself and your new puppy is through obiedance training. Your dog needs a strong leader to feel secure within the household and avoid behaviours that steam roll into problems. Have you and your puppy joined a puppy school (see you local vet centre) or have your thourght about joining an obiendance school. Both these forums will help teach you how to build the correct relationshiop with your dog - YOU being the leader and the DOG being the follower, instead of the other way around. The training will also do wonders for your new pup in as far as socialising him with other puppies/ adult dogs/ children / adults/ different noises/rain/wind and heaps heaps more. Puppy school at your local vets is great because the pup will have a ball and will then assocaite the vets as a pleasurable place instead of a bad place. Also at puppy school there will be other people in your situation, and you will get valuable tips on how to stop puppy related behaviours, which you may already be noticing such as inappropriate toileting, jumping up, hyper excitement, mouthing, chewing, digging holes etc

I can not stress highly enough the importance of taking new pups to obiendance schools. Granted not everyone wants a dog that can do backflips on command but the spin offs of attending an obiendance school even if not for the rest of the dogs life, are well documented and recognised with the veterinary industry.

Some things you can start doing at home are as follows:

A) Always feed your puppy last (after you have eaten if possible) but definately not when you are preparing you food. In the wild after a kill the alpha male and females eat first, then the rest of the pack according to hierachy (dominace stance with the pack)

B)Ask you puppy to do something for you - like sit or drop, before you reward him - either with pats, throwing the ball or feeding him

C)Cant think of any others due to tiredness - isn't that sad :D

Good luck with your new puppy. Owning a new puppy can be such a rewarding experience. If you have any other questions or need me to clarify any of this long winded reply, feel free to PM me.

Emma

[peibe]

:D

Hump him back

poor little Chi :D

[Muttaburra]

I don't recommend pushing, that can be like a "play" move to a dog. Otherwise plenty of good information in the above posts.

[Chi_lover]

Thanks so much for your help everyone. Especially Emma! He has been better. He still trys to hump his toys a bit but hasn't done it to a person lately. He is such a good little puppy! He is pretty perfect with most things although toilet training could be a little better but he's doing ok. He is a little bit of a fussy eater too but I just make sure I don't give in and get him something else.

[caffiend42]

Happy to be "of service"

[Chi_lover]

Happy to be "of service"

Lol I'm not so sure about your help caffiend42.

But you did give me a good giggle!