Post Featured Image
Post Featured Image

Ask an Expert – Obsessive teddy bear humping

Begin the process of decreasing or eliminating this behaviour by teaching her an “off” or “leave it” exercise and rewardwith small tidbits of food.

By: Delores Wall

Last Updated:

Share:
Read Caption
Header photo: pdb1/bigstock.com

Q: My dog, Misha, obsessively humps one of her teddy bears, which is fine, if embarrassing when we have company over. Just wondering why on earth she does this.—Red-faced in Red Hook, Brooklyn

A: I still remember one of my classes: five small dogs doing choo-choo train with each other.We just stood there and had a good laugh for a moment, then redirected them to other behaviours. In your case, you might be thankful that at least Misha is humping her teddy bear rather than a human or another dog.

Biologically, it is appropriate, natural, sexual behaviour, but it may graduate to an obsessive/compulsive behaviour—something that is repeatedly done when the opportunity is there. Some environments can trigger this behaviour. Try to determine when she started doing this and what was happening in the environment at that time.

It would be helpful to first rule out whether Misha has any itching or irritation in the genital area as she may find the humping action eases her discomfort. I always like to rule out any medical concerns first.

Is she suffering from any anxiety, stress, or boredom that can cause her to do this? It can take place as well in a conflict situation, where she wanted to do an activity, but you haven’t allowed that to take place. She therefore redirects her energy to another behaviour such as humping teddy. She may just find pleasure in the humping which, of course, has now become a habit.

Begin the process of decreasing or eliminating this behaviour by teaching her an “off” or “leave it” exercise and reward with small tidbits of food. Also remove all the soft toys for now, introducing ones that can still be self-rewarding such as the Kong, Busy Buddy, or Treat stick filled with goodies. Additionally, find other outlets for her. Redirect her behaviour to some basic and fun training skills; i.e., sit, down, rollover, games, positive and fun classes, longer walks, and playtime with you.

Last Updated:

By: Delores Wall
Comments (2)

Join the newsletter and never miss out on dog content again!

"*" indicates required fields

Consent*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By clicking the arrow, you agree to our web Terms of Use and Privacy & Cookie Policy. Easy unsubscribe links are provided in every email.