My puppy won't stop humping my leg - help!

[Gabriele Gardner]

Bentley is 15 weeks old and seems be humping my leg more and more as the weeks go by.  He doesn't do this to my daughters or my husband and I'm trying to figure out why this is happening.  He also follows me everywhere and has to have his eyes on me at all times.  I consistently push him off as soon as he starts and say "OFF, NO."  Is this normal behavior?  Any ideas on ways to get him to stop?  I'm going to post this in the puppy group too.  

 

Thanks for any feedback you may have!

Gabrielle

[Patti]

Men!

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Gabrielle, many times dogs hump each other to challenge who is the Alpha in the pack. If you are the pack leader, he is challenging you. He is still young, so continuing to say, Off and No is important and he will understand it, eventually. Praise him when he is not doing the unwanted behavior or stops doing it.

[Adina P]

Just keep letting him know you don't want it.  You can even use a small squirt bottle as a consequence.  It should pass with neutering and/or simply being consistent.

[Pam]

I asked my vet about this when Buddy was doing it at this age.  He told me it is more about dominance, and trying to establish pack order.  Just keep letting him know that the behavior is unacceptable.  With us it only lasted a short time. 

[Diane, Baker & Oskar]

Baker did this quite a bit when he was a puppy...it's all about dominance...if it happens when you're sitting, stand up, shake him off & tell him no.  If you're standing, it might help to turn your back to him.  It diminishes with time if you're consistent.  It still happens with our grandchildren periodically because he knows they have no authority & are small.  As soon as he starts, we pull him off & that's the end of it.

 

Another thing I noticed with Baker when he was younger was that, if I was sitting on the floor, he'd try to dominate me.  He'd start getting rough, ramming me, etc.  Standing up stopped the behavior.  I guess dogs are constantly watching for our body language & will adapt accordingly.  Good luck...it's a phase that will pass :)

 

[Sharon & Levi]

I could of written this myself ! help !

[Gabriele Gardner]

Sharon and Leslie,

I have been working with a trainer and she says to handle it like another dog would - lunge your body over him, show your teeth, and say very stern and loud "NO."  That has helped quite a bit but has not stopped it.  She also says to give him a quick shake to his scruff while your doing the other things I mentioned if it is not getting through to him.  She is surprised he is still doing it after I have done the stern reprimand and last week said "okay, it is time to neuter him."  It is not a sexual thing, but rather dominance (like others have said), but she said his testosterone is flowing and neutering will help in that regard.  He will be getting neutered in a couple weeks so we shall see.  She also mentioned staying off of the floor with him.  It is important to be bigger than him, by standing up.  I had been playing with him on the floor a lot and he seems to treat me like a litter mate (playing rough, humping, mouthing).  So I have been doing less of that and it has helped quite a bit.  Hopefully some of these ideas will help with your puppies.  They are sure cute!!