Mounting and humping are natural dog behaviors and are neither disgusting nor abnormal.

It's essential to consider the context—who the dogs are and their relationship—when humping occurs.

Citizen scientists can help us learn why dogs hump and if there are inveterate 'humpers' and 'humpees'.

Excessive mounting and humping may indicate a problem requiring training, visiting a vet, or both.

One of the most common questions I hear is: Why does my dog hump other dogs (the humper) when the other dog (the recipient, or humpee) is the same sex or a female who isn't in heat? Humping is far more interesting and complex than most people realize; it's a natural dog behavior, and it isn't necessarily disgusting or abnormal. For convenience, many people use the words "mounting" and "humping" synonymously—mounting means one dog climbs or stands on top of another dog's body, and humping refers to the physical act.1

What's humping all about?

There isn’t a simple single reason why dogs hump. Humping occurs after a dog mounts another dog from behind, the side, or the front (see image) and thrusts with their hips. To figure out why they're doing this, it's essential to consider the dog's point of view and context—who's involved, the nature of their relationship, and when and where it’s happening. Males and females do it to same-sex and opposite-sex individuals. Humping can be an expression of interest in mating, dominance, or play, or a dog may randomly wind up in that position, some reflex gets triggered, and a-humping they will go.

Mounting and humping also occur when a dog is zooming around. I’ve seen dogs going “berserk" and while enjoying their zoomies, they mounted and humped another dog on the run for a second or........

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