Humping is most often a normal part of all puppies’ lives, male or female. It’s important to begin training early with your puppy to try and tackle this behaviour early on. At around 6 months once your puppy reaches their sexual maturity, their humping will grow more sexually charged. What age does a puppy start humping?ĭue to the non-sexual nature of humping in young puppies, it’s not unlikely you’ll bring your puppy home with a humping habit already developed. Sexually motivated mounting is usually accompanied by certain body language: tail up, panting, whining or pawing. It may also happen if your puppy is scared at the dog park. So if your puppy or dog is greeting you at the door with a friendly leg-hump, they’re probably just glad to see you.
Some dogs respond to stressful or exciting situations by mounting things. Because of this, it can continue into adulthood, even if your dog is female and has been desexed. It’s one of the first ways a puppy discovers its own strength and social standing.
Puppies don’t reach puberty until they’re six to eight months old, so humping is non-sexual play behaviour. But if allowed to continue, mounting can become habitual, so it’s best to stamp it out before your dog latches onto the family cat – who may not be so understanding. Both male and female dogs hump for a range of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with sexual desire.
