November 2009

You may have seen dogs who hump toys or cushions or who try to hump other dogs. You may have even had dogs that humped your leg — which is not really very amusing if you are the person who is being humped. All of this humping may have left you wondering what it’s all about.

Different dogs can hump things for different reasons. All humping is a movement mimicking the sexual act. However, that does not mean that every time a puppy or dog humps something they want to have sex.

For instance, if you watch very young puppies playing, they will often hump each other. Both boys and girls display this behavior. They are just playing and practicing for later in life. They are developing sexual roles as well as using humping to display dominance. This is all done in play and there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s quite normal at this age.

For some puppies the behavior can become a habit. They can continue to try to dominant other puppies or dogs with humping behavior. It doesn’t have to be sexual in nature. They may try to hump dogs of the same sex. In a reverse situation, humping can be a way for a dog to try to show another dog that they want to be part of their group. “Hey, I’m one of you!” They may try to hump larger or older dogs. This almost appears to be a form of hero-worship.

Dogs can also hump people or things if they have a physical problem, such as itches or irritations in the genital area. They are essentially trying to rub the area on something to make it feel better. This can also become a habit.

Of course, when a bitch is in season there may be humping behavior long before there is any actual mating. Males may try to hump the female. The female may try to hump the male to arouse his interest, and so on. This is essentially courting behavior. Sometimes humans are inadvertently brought into the mix and a male or female (more often a male) may hump someone’s leg if they happen to be around.

Neutering or spaying a dog does not necessarily stop humping behavior. Since humping can be a learned behavior — a habit — it is usually a mental action, not a physical need. There are many spayed and neutered dogs who continue humping unless they are trained to stop the behavior.

The best way to train your dog not to hump is to teach him to do some other desired behavior when he starts to hump. Teach him to do a trick instead. Or teach him to simply obey basic commands such as Sit, Lie Down or something else.

Certainly not all dogs hump. This is a very individual behavior. Stopping your dog early when he starts humping your leg or other unacceptable things will usually stop the behavior. It is mostly seen in immature dogs. Most adult dogs do grow out of it unless the behavior is allowed to become an ingrained habit.

Do you have problems with a humping dog? Were you able to solve the problem? Tell us about your successes.

Until next time…..

It seems that many dogs are very touchy about having their paws touched. If you ask dog groomers, many of them will tell you that one of the biggest problems they have is trying to handle their clients’ paws, especially when it comes to doing their nails. Why is this so?

The truth is that dogs are not born having touchy paws. If you pick up and handle newborn puppies you will find that they don’t resist having their paws touched at all. Young puppies have no worries or concerns about their paws. You can touch them, play with them, tickle them, and so on, just as you do the rest of a puppy’s body. This indicates that dogs only become squeamish about having their paws touched later in life. They learn to fear having their paws touched because of bad experiences, or because their owners don’t try to handle their paws until they are ready to cut their nails. Whatever the case, the dog only associates negative things with having their paws touched.

The key to having a dog that is not skittish about having his paws touched is to make sure that you handle his paws from the day you bring him home.

You can start by simply petting his paws and playing with your puppy’s toes when he’s lying down. Give him some treats while you’re petting his paws. Help him to associate good things with having his paws petted.

Handle all parts of your puppy’s paws — his pads, his toes, in between the toes, the tops and the bottoms of his paws. Remember to give treats. Give you puppy a paw massage. Believe it or not, dogs enjoy having their paws massaged as much as humans do, as long as your dog has not become touchy about having his paws handled.

When you do your puppy’s nails make sure that you only try to remove a tiny bit of nail during each session. There’s no need to try to make the nails too short all at one time. It’s much better to just cut off a little at a time. This way you will be sure that you don’t come anywhere near cutting your puppy’s nail quick. Cutting the quick is what hurts and what can make the nail bleed so you want to avoid it at all costs. If your puppy has clear or white nails then you can see the white-colored quick inside the nail. Stay away from it with your nail clippers! If your puppy has black or dark nails, try to align them with the white or clear nails that you cut. If all of your puppy’s nails are dark, then only take off a very small segment of nail (1/4 inch, for instance). Then you can look at the bottom of the nail and see how it looks. Does it look dry? Is there any sign of an opening for the quick? If it looks safe, then you may be able to remove another tiny amount of the nail, but remember that it’s better to err of the side of caution. Don’t remove any more nail if you think you may be getting close to the quick.

Your puppy’s nails grow quickly. In addition, as you cut the nail, the quick begins to retreat back toward the paw. So, if you cut the nail 1/4 of an inch today, then in a couple of days you will be able to safely cut the nail a little more without cutting the quick. You can see this process with clear nails.

Whenever you cut your puppy’s nails be sure to give him treats as you work on each nail. Praise him for any cooperation at all. And just work on one nail or one paw at a time. Don’t make it too much of a chore.

If you follow these suggestions then your dog will not be touchy about his paws.

Tell us what you have done to help your dog with this problem.

Until next time…….

Long hair blowing in the breeze, the rush of air in the face. Not a care in the world! What could feel better, right? That’s probably what your dog is thinking when he sticks his head out the car window.

Why do dogs seem to love to stick their heads out of car windows? Well, they probably like to do it for the same reasons that kids do. It feels good. Grown-ups are used to riding in cars, but for dogs everything is new and fun. Unless a dog is prone to carsickness, most dogs love going for car rides. What’s not to love? They get to go someplace with their favorite person (you). It’s exciting. Who knows where they may end up? So, for a dog, getting to stick his head out the window is the icing on the cake.

When your dog puts his head out the window he can probably enjoy it in ways we can’t imagine. With his superior sense of smell he may be able to take in a million scents a minute at high speed. It must be intoxicating for him! He can enjoy the sounds and other sensations in the same way. Plus, the feel of the wind on his face is probably just as pleasant for him as it is for us.

In short, your dog likes to put his head out the car window when you go somewhere because it’s fun.

However, that doesn’t mean that you should let your dog engage in this activity. Driving around with your dog hanging his head out the car window can be dangerous for him, just as it is for children.

A dog who sticks his head out the window when you’re driving can easily get things stuck in his eyes. Even tiny seeds or gravel in the air can cause serious injury to your dog when you’re driving at moderate speed. If something larger were to hit your dog in the head, such as a soda can, he could be seriously hurt.

If you drive around with your dog sticking his head out the window there is also a danger that he could scramble out of the car and onto the road. If you have the window down for him to stick his head out it may be possible for him to squeeze the rest of his body through the opening, too. Dogs can become very excited by things they see when you’re driving and you wouldn’t be able to prevent your dog from climbing out before you could stop him.

As a matter of safety it’s usually a good idea to crate your dog when you’re driving or, at least have him wear a safety harness in your vehicle. This will prevent him from wandering loose in the car and from being tossed around the vehicle if you should have an accident. Yes, it will also prevent him from sticking his head out the window, but it is safer.

Here’s one definite safety tip: please don’t let dogs ride loose in the back of pick-up trucks. This can be dangerous not only for your dog but also for people driving behind and around you.

Until next time……..