Nixa, my female black lab dog has a few play mates in our neighborhood.
She is 2 3/4 yrs old, spayed, very well behaved and in excellent shape and
health.
One of her favorite playmates is a yellow lab mix who is about her age and
also a spayed female in excellent shape and health. Often when they are
playing
together Nixa will try and mount the other dog. While the other dog doesn't
seem
to mind, I am wondering why Nixa does this. This is the only other dog I
have seen
Nixa try to mount.

Any explanations of this behavior is appreciated.

Thanks,
Renee (Nixa's mom)

It's not what you think, although the sight of a female dog (or even a
neutered male) mounting the back of another dog (of any gender) can be a tad
shocking.

Mounting is not necessarily about sex when it comes to dogs. In most cases
(neutered males and females) this behaviour is a dominance play, meant to
force the other dog into submission. It is also just play, no deeper meaning
to it at all. A more dominant dog may use this frequently to establish
himself as higher in the heirarchy, but between dogs who have their pack
position well-sorted, it is just a wrestling move, and a brief stint on the
top will not elevate a lower-ranking dog to a higher position unless a
challenge is clearly won.
"R. Zimmerman" wrote in message
m...
Nixa, my female black lab dog has a few play mates in our neighborhood.
She is 2 3/4 yrs old, spayed, very well behaved and in excellent shape and
health.
One of her favorite playmates is a yellow lab mix who is about her age and
also a spayed female in excellent shape and health. Often when they are
playing
together Nixa will try and mount the other dog. While the other dog
doesn't
seem
to mind, I am wondering why Nixa does this. This is the only other dog I
have seen
Nixa try to mount.

Any explanations of this behavior is appreciated.

Thanks,
Renee (Nixa's mom)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nicole H"
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2004 9:26 PM
Subject: Mounting other dog


It's not what you think, although the sight of a female dog (or even a
neutered male) mounting the back of another dog (of any gender) can be a
tad
shocking.

Mounting is not necessarily about sex when it comes to dogs. In most cases
(neutered males and females) this behaviour is a dominance play, meant to
force the other dog into submission

I tend to see most humping as a release of social frustration. I don't find
the majority of it to be about dominance at all. But then I tend not to view
dog behavior as a generalized power play..

Tara

Thanks for all the replies. Now I am really confused. Some folks say
it is a dominance thing others say that mounting behavior is just a
play thing.

I have gone on line and read much on this. It seems
that Nixa's behavior is a little bit of both. But then Nixa's
has only tried to mount one other dog
and it is always when they
are playing and tearing about the yard.

The organization that I got Nixa from says that this a
dominance behavior and should be stopped. Nixa is an assistance
dog and only tries to hump Bailey (the other dog) when I have taken
off her vest and leash off and give the command to go play.

Thanks again,
Renee (Nixa's Mom)


"R. Zimmerman" wrote in message
m...
Nixa, my female black lab dog has a few play mates in our neighborhood.
She is 2 3/4 yrs old, spayed, very well behaved and in excellent shape and
health.
One of her favorite playmates is a yellow lab mix who is about her age and
also a spayed female in excellent shape and health. Often when they are
playing
together Nixa will try and mount the other dog. While the other dog
doesn't seem
to mind, I am wondering why Nixa does this. This is the only other dog I
have seen
Nixa try to mount.

Any explanations of this behavior is appreciated.

Thanks,
Renee (Nixa's mom)

Like I posted, it can be both. When it's play, it's play. When it's a
dominance thing, it's dominance. I've never seen my females try to get
dominance but my males have. I dog watched an unneutered male for a week.
He immediately mounted my neutered male. My male is a very stubborn
pitbull. The unneutered male also tried to growl, nip, etc. He immediately
learned that he wasn't going to dominate my dog.
Google your question and you'll find the same reponse that I posted. There
are hundreds of dog training sites.. they all say... play or/and domimance.
If there are no fights, real fights, I wouldn't worry about it.

"R. Zimmerman" wrote in message
m...
Thanks for all the replies. Now I am really confused. Some folks say
it is a dominance thing others say that mounting behavior is just a
play thing.

I have gone on line and read much on this. It seems
that Nixa's behavior is a little bit of both. But then Nixa's
has only tried to mount one other dog
and it is always when they
are playing and tearing about the yard.

The organization that I got Nixa from says that this a
dominance behavior and should be stopped. Nixa is an assistance
dog and only tries to hump Bailey (the other dog) when I have taken
off her vest and leash off and give the command to go play.

Thanks again,
Renee (Nixa's Mom)


"R. Zimmerman" wrote in message
m...
Nixa, my female black lab dog has a few play mates in our neighborhood.
She is 2 3/4 yrs old, spayed, very well behaved and in excellent shape
and
health.
One of her favorite playmates is a yellow lab mix who is about her age
and
also a spayed female in excellent shape and health. Often when they are
playing
together Nixa will try and mount the other dog. While the other dog
doesn't seem
to mind, I am wondering why Nixa does this. This is the only other dog I
have seen
Nixa try to mount.

Any explanations of this behavior is appreciated.

Thanks,
Renee (Nixa's mom)

R. Zimmerman wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. Now I am really confused. Some folks say
it is a dominance thing others say that mounting behavior is just a
play thing.

I have gone on line and read much on this. It seems
that Nixa's behavior is a little bit of both. But then Nixa's
has only tried to mount one other dog
and it is always when they
are playing and tearing about the yard.

Just because it is a dominance behavior doesn't mean
it's adversarial. I think it's normal for dogs in
groups to remind each other frequently of where they
stand in the pack. Sometimes they'll do that during
play. Also, during play, some types of behavior are
acceptable when performed by the alpha (or "top dog"),
and the same behavior by a lower dog will earn a
reprimand from the alpha.

I have 8 dogs, 6 in one group and 2 in another. I
recently introduced (on neutral ground) 1 dog from each
group that had not previously met without a barrier
between them.

After they sniffed each other, the older dog laid her
head across the younger, larger dog's back. She's too
old and fat to "mount" him ;-). He stood like a statue.

Then the younger dog play-bowed, with his head held low
and tilted on the side, wagging his tail, and then laid
down and allowed the older dog to stand over him. They
formed an X. The older dog moved away about a foot and
stood at attention, and the younger dog got a toy and
dropped it in front of her, and laid down again.

Looked to me like they had just "talked" about who was
over who and both accepted that the older female dog
was higher in the hierarchy than the younger male.
Nobody growled, nobody snapped.

I would expect, if they played together, that the older
dog would sometimes reassert her dominance during play.
Maybe by standing over him again, or taking the toy
away and guarding it briefly.

The organization that I got Nixa from says that this a
dominance behavior and should be stopped. Nixa is an assistance
dog and only tries to hump Bailey (the other dog) when I have taken
off her vest and leash off and give the command to go play.

I don't think it's anything to worry about. I don't
think 2 (or more) dogs can coexist without forming a
pack, even temporarily, in which one dog is the alpha.
Again, this is not necessarily a bitter, adversarial
process. In the wild it would have been a survival
disadvantage for the species to *always* fight to the
point of serious injury over who would be the alpha in
a pack. Pretty soon, there wouldn't be a pack, huh?

A behaviorist in the group might be better able to
guide you; I have no formal training or credentials in
this area, just many years of owning more than 1 dog.

flick 100785



Thanks again,
Renee (Nixa's Mom)

Thanks again for all the posts and follow up posts.
I feel much less confused about Nixa's mounting behavior.
I think that it is a play thing. Both Nixa and Bailey will take turns
rolling onto her back (the both are females) and letting the other dog stand
over her.

There is never any growling, nipping, snapping or rough play. Nixa and
Bailey
both get in play position with each other. I have never seen either Nixa or
Bailey put her head across the other's back.

When I think about it Bailey has some interesting behaviors too. After Nixa
and
Bailey have run around for a bit, if Nixa stops to rest Bailey will often
take
Nixa's front leg in her mouth and tug. It's as if Bailey is saying: "hey I
still
want to play".

Since Nixa is never aggressive and has never try to mount any other dog, and
Bailey is Nixa's favorite doggie pal, I will stop freaking out about this.

All of you are great and I have learned a lot.
Renee (Nixa' mom)


"flick" wrote in message
...
R. Zimmerman wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. Now I am really confused. Some folks say
it is a dominance thing others say that mounting behavior is just a
play thing.

I have gone on line and read much on this. It seems
that Nixa's behavior is a little bit of both. But then Nixa's
has only tried to mount one other dog
and it is always when they
are playing and tearing about the yard.

Just because it is a dominance behavior doesn't mean it's adversarial. I
think it's normal for dogs in groups to remind each other frequently of
where they stand in the pack. Sometimes they'll do that during play.
Also, during play, some types of behavior are acceptable when performed by
the alpha (or "top dog"), and the same behavior by a lower dog will earn a
reprimand from the alpha.

I have 8 dogs, 6 in one group and 2 in another. I recently introduced (on
neutral ground) 1 dog from each group that had not previously met without
a barrier between them.

After they sniffed each other, the older dog laid her head across the
younger, larger dog's back. She's too old and fat to "mount" him ;-).
He stood like a statue.

Then the younger dog play-bowed, with his head held low and tilted on the
side, wagging his tail, and then laid down and allowed the older dog to
stand over him. They formed an X. The older dog moved away about a foot
and stood at attention, and the younger dog got a toy and dropped it in
front of her, and laid down again.

Looked to me like they had just "talked" about who was over who and both
accepted that the older female dog was higher in the hierarchy than the
younger male. Nobody growled, nobody snapped.

I would expect, if they played together, that the older dog would
sometimes reassert her dominance during play. Maybe by standing over him
again, or taking the toy away and guarding it briefly.

The organization that I got Nixa from says that this a
dominance behavior and should be stopped. Nixa is an assistance
dog and only tries to hump Bailey (the other dog) when I have taken
off her vest and leash off and give the command to go play.

I don't think it's anything to worry about. I don't think 2 (or more)
dogs can coexist without forming a pack, even temporarily, in which one
dog is the alpha. Again, this is not necessarily a bitter, adversarial
process. In the wild it would have been a survival disadvantage for the
species to *always* fight to the point of serious injury over who would be
the alpha in a pack. Pretty soon, there wouldn't be a pack, huh?

A behaviorist in the group might be better able to guide you; I have no
formal training or credentials in this area, just many years of owning
more than 1 dog.

flick 100785



Thanks again,
Renee (Nixa's Mom)

Exactly! You worded it perfectly. Now put on your flame coat because you
mentioned the evil word dominance!

8 dogs? wow! that's my dream. thank goodness it's coming soon quickly.
"flick" wrote in message
...
R. Zimmerman wrote:
Thanks for all the replies. Now I am really confused. Some folks say
it is a dominance thing others say that mounting behavior is just a
play thing.

I have gone on line and read much on this. It seems
that Nixa's behavior is a little bit of both. But then Nixa's
has only tried to mount one other dog
and it is always when they
are playing and tearing about the yard.

Just because it is a dominance behavior doesn't mean
it's adversarial. I think it's normal for dogs in
groups to remind each other frequently of where they
stand in the pack. Sometimes they'll do that during
play. Also, during play, some types of behavior are
acceptable when performed by the alpha (or "top dog"),
and the same behavior by a lower dog will earn a
reprimand from the alpha.

I have 8 dogs, 6 in one group and 2 in another. I
recently introduced (on neutral ground) 1 dog from each
group that had not previously met without a barrier
between them.

After they sniffed each other, the older dog laid her
head across the younger, larger dog's back. She's too
old and fat to "mount" him ;-). He stood like a statue.

Then the younger dog play-bowed, with his head held low
and tilted on the side, wagging his tail, and then laid
down and allowed the older dog to stand over him. They
formed an X. The older dog moved away about a foot and
stood at attention, and the younger dog got a toy and
dropped it in front of her, and laid down again.

Looked to me like they had just "talked" about who was
over who and both accepted that the older female dog
was higher in the hierarchy than the younger male.
Nobody growled, nobody snapped.

I would expect, if they played together, that the older
dog would sometimes reassert her dominance during play.
Maybe by standing over him again, or taking the toy
away and guarding it briefly.

The organization that I got Nixa from says that this a
dominance behavior and should be stopped. Nixa is an assistance
dog and only tries to hump Bailey (the other dog) when I have taken
off her vest and leash off and give the command to go play.

I don't think it's anything to worry about. I don't
think 2 (or more) dogs can coexist without forming a
pack, even temporarily, in which one dog is the alpha.
Again, this is not necessarily a bitter, adversarial
process. In the wild it would have been a survival
disadvantage for the species to *always* fight to the
point of serious injury over who would be the alpha in
a pack. Pretty soon, there wouldn't be a pack, huh?

A behaviorist in the group might be better able to
guide you; I have no formal training or credentials in
this area, just many years of owning more than 1 dog.

flick 100785



Thanks again,
Renee (Nixa's Mom)