A to Z Challenge: H is for Humping (dogs!)

Years ago, our dog Hector insisted on "humping" a friend's male dog every time he saw the dog.  Just that one dog.  None other.  The friend would say that Hector was "gay".  Hector was not neutered.  I am sure that probably had something to do with the behavior, but again, this was the ONLY dog he ever did that to.  Perhaps Hector was incidentally gay, but I really don't think there is such a thing as a specific sexual preference in canines -- they'll hump anything!  But more importantly, "humping" in dogs is a sign of dominance, not sexuality.

Most of the time, with dogs, the action that takes place is "mounting".  This is when one dog (doesn't have to be male, females do it, too) places its body atop the other dog while greeting or playing.  This is a clear sign of dominance.  And then what most dogs do is jump around and vie for position and play.  They'll often keep switching "dominant" position with one another.  All in fun.  An occasional bully will be aggressive and do all the mounting, not letting the other dog get the upper hand, but this is pretty rare in well-socialized canines.

Humping is taking mounting to the next level.  My two dogs, Charlie Brown and Cooper, are litter mates, twins, brothers.  Cooper only has three legs, but he can "take down" Charlie, right down to the ground, and often does.  And Charlie is HUGE.  They take turns mounting, slamming each other to the ground, and then, yes, humping.  They do this every day at play time. They both do it.  Are they gay?  Maybe.  Who knows?!  Who cares? The point is they are playing and roughhousing, and it is normal dog behavior.

Cooper and Charlie Brown "fighting" on the bed.  I don't have any pictures of them mounting or humping LOL!  I'll have to work on that!  Since they do it every day, shouldn't be too difficult!

So, the next time someone sees your dog, or another dog, humping or mounting, just remember that it is part of their play behavior, and it doesn't mean anything sexual -- they are not a "bad dog", and they could be gay, but maybe not.  Dogs are dogs, they aren't humans.  Their behavior has different origins (think wolves in a pack).

Hobie and Cooper (both males) "making out".  Yes, they are in love!

Too bad we already did the letter A, because we could focus on anthropomorphizing!  Now there's a topic we can all say we're guilty of!

Thanks for reading!