Afternoon All

My two and a half year old female bulldog was rushed to the emergency vets last Sunday with what turned out to be a bad gastro infection. She was very poorly and stayed in on a drip to recover.

She's back to her normal self thank God, but she seems to have come back from her illness with prolific humping! She's air humped during her season before, but she's not in season, or anywhere near due and has turned her affections to me and my four year old daughter. I've got a seven year old she's not interested in and a nine month old she mothers.

Yesterday it was starting with licking, then air humping. Today she's gone full blown sex mad and she's mounting out of nowhere. I've not even seen her do this during her season.

As a side note, I'm in early pregnancy, so figured it could be a factor, but I'm a bit baffled by her behaviour as she didn't do this in my last pregnancy. And considering how weak and ill she's been over the last few days, I'm a bit shocked!

It is odd given the timing (being ill) but not totally unusual.   This is usually more to do with domination than sex however and perhaps being kept in the vet's office when ill has upset her more than 'just' being ill.    Best I can offer is once she is fully recovered you think about booking her in the be spayed in any case - having said this need not be to do with sex, it could be hormonal and in any case, there's really no need to keep her cycling and needing to be confined twice a year!  

Odd behaviour indeed and I'd imagine not behaviour you want for your 4 year old daughter to have to put up with - I imagine she's heavy!!

That's a really good idea about her being away for the night and trying to reassert her dominance. My daughter at first found it to be a hilarious game, but she now let's out a horrified scream each time.

We were hoping to get a litter from her, but after having had two failed attempts (my aunt is an experienced breeder), I am leaning towards spaying her.

They arnt an easy breed to whelp and often require a c section but I am sure your aunt will have explained that.given what's happened regarding breeding and the humping at 2.5 she is mature enough to be spayed  I think I would seriously consider that and not breed from her

Plus as you say you are in early pregnancy yourself, so by the time you are past the nappy/ toddling stage she might be a bit old for her first pregnancy.

I knew it was going to be hard work having a litter of puppies but blimey I now know that's an understatement.

Good Luck.

This is not dominance.  Most likely it is stress - the stress of being away from home and being ill at the same time.  It may even be excitement due to being back home again.  Dogs hump for all manner of reasons - dominance is rarely one of them when it's towards other dogs, never mind towards people when that has been disproved as a theory.  Dogs cannot be dominant over people (and vice versa).  Excitement, stress/stress relief, nerves, play, "because it feels good" are all typical reasons.  Sex and rank are way, way down the list.

> This is not dominance.

What's going on here, in this particular case, may well not be down to dominance but more to do with 'excitement' at being back home.  BUT I have to disagree that humping is rarely to do with dominance.   And dogs most certainly can be dominant over people, or try it on.  I suppose for every 'theory' there is always one that counters that theory, but for me, dominance and humping are the most likely to go hand in hand.   Sex however, is way down the list and that I do agree with.   Puppies will, I believe, 'experiment'.

The definition of domination is:  Control or power over another or others & the exercise of such control or power.

Dogs do NOT dominate or try to dominate humans, too many people anthropomorphize anmals & interpret natural behaviour in dogs in human terms & not canine.

Truly dominant dogs do not need to physically impose themselves or other dogs, their body language & presence is enough. The canine dominance theory is based on erroneous studies on wolves held in artificial captive situations. Dogs may be closely related to dogs, but dogs are NOT wolves & have been domesticated for over 10s of thousands of years

Tommee.   I have been around my hounds since 1972 and HAVE SEEN FIRST HAND how humping can mean dominance.   But whatever.   If you like to believe it's just putting a human viewpoint onto how dogs behave, so be it.

Sorry, having a bad hair day and my tolerance level is low just now.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/animal-emotions/201209/why-dogs-hump
Some of what's in this article may be worth consideration.   There are other articles

That's your view & you are entitled it without being so rude.

I've been around all types of dogs all my life not just collies & have witnessed a very very few dominant dogs. Most many people wiil never have considered to be dominant, because they did nothing obviously dominant, but watching the other dogs in their presence showed me that they were dominant.

However I gave yet to see a dog try to dominate a human, dogs are aware they are dogs & we are not & there is no reason they would need to dominate us. We are providers for them.

FYI I've been surrounded by dogs & involved with dogs since the early 1950s & at first believed as you still do, glad to say I have learnt that I was mistaken, by being hands on & not searching the internet nor reading books

I don't believe that it's putting a human viewpoint onto dogs, although there is a lot to be said for our almost desparate need to find "dominance" and strict heirarchies in just about every species we come across.

I believe it because it's what the evidence suggests: that some dogs can show dominance towards others, although on the whole canine hierarchy is extremely fluid and often nonexistant in a domestic setting; and that dogs cannot be dominant over people, nor can we be over them.  The study that first brought this theory to life was flawed in quite a few ways; and dogs are not wolves and as the most up-to-date information suggests, did not even evolve from them but from a common ancestor.  So even if the initial studies were correct about hierarchy in wolves, it still would not apply.

Studies done on dogs - feral populations, observations of domestic groups - indicate that where there is a hierarchy, it varies hugely between inviduals, different groups and so far as minute-to-minute situations.  And as Tommee says, a truly dominant dog, when one exists, does not need to show it physically: they are very calm, confident animals.  I have had one of those so yes, they exist and I have seen how mine behaved around the others - there was no humping except in play, no tension, no nothing but that confident, cool control with pointed looks.

The article you yourself posted even says that humping alone is not a dominance issue: "In a recent article on mounting, Peter Borchelt, Ph. D., a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB) in New York City, noted, “Mounting could be part of a suite of behaviors associated with aggression, such as high posture, resource guarding, direct stares, and threats and standing over. But mounting, in and of itself, doesn’t indicate a status issue. By itself, mounting might not mean a lot.” (cited in Hecht, 2012)."

Here's an article by Victoria Stillwell, an excellent behaviourist who is very much up to date with the theories behind dog behaviour:

https://positively.com/contributors/why-does-my-dog-hump-everything/

Hi,

I think your dog is just glad to be home and in it's misguided way is trying to tell you that. I don't think it's a dominance issue, it's probably just relieved/excited to be back home, seeking some reassurance and possibly feeling confused. I would just ignore the unwanted behaviour and try to redirect it to something you prefer. I don't think it's got anything to do with dominance or sex. Don't tolerate it and it will go. I would add as a side note that when heifers or bullocks are put out to grass for the first time in the spring they often hump each other, not out of dominance or sex, just high spirits at being out at last, so it's not just dogs that do this. Hopefully it will pass soon and your dog will settle down and recover.