Not to be indelicate but..

J

JacqueZ

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I've noticed for about the last six to eight months, other dogs have been overly interested in Honey's posterior. And Honey is not that interested in theirs, she'll give a polite sniff, but the other dogs are just burying themselves into ... fur...

They'll stay like that long enough to make her uncomfortable, she'll move away, she gets stiff, they keep coming.

Even dogs who she's greeted multiple times on walks have started making her uncomfortable.

I took her to get groomed and made sure she was expressed, neither the groomers or the vet has seemed to think anything was the matter in that area.

It's getting to be a problem, she's getting more upset with it as it continues to happen and gets snappish. I encourage her to move away, but, I don't know if she's just to nervous, or if she's standing her ground, but she is reluctant to do so.

Any insight? It just really seems excessive on the other dogs part...are they just doing it because Honey is letting them get away with it?
 
Is she spayed?

Personally, I would remove the offending dog at once so she doesn't feel the need to snap. Grab their collar or squeeze your leg between her and them. If you are concerned about being bitten you could carry a stick or one of those ball throwers to help separate the two.

My Cadbury is prone to being humped by other male dogs. If I can I always grab the dog and haul it off him. Even better is if I can preempt the situation and stand between Cadbury and the offender. It's a nightmare and other owners tend to do very little about it, even though it is a nuisance.
 
A light tennis racket to carry on your walks would give you something that you could place between Honey and the offending dog to push them away from her without putting your hands in jeopardy. A quick sniff is typical in dogs, but this sounds much more pushy and Honey could use your protection.

Trini
 
labgirl said:
Is she spayed?

Personally, I would remove the offending dog at once so she doesn't feel the need to snap. Grab their collar or squeeze your leg between her and them. If you are concerned about being bitten you could carry a stick or one of those ball throwers to help separate the two.

My Cadbury is prone to being humped by other male dogs. If I can I always grab the dog and haul it off him. Even better is if I can preempt the situation and stand between Cadbury and the offender. It's a nightmare and other owners tend to do very little about it, even though it is a nuisance.
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I get miffed at the owners that don't USE leads, don't have voice control over their dogs, and try and come after my girls. It is usually bigger dogs and they don't like bigger dogs, because they tend to ruff house or are clumsy and that bothers my girls. I get very unfriendly towards these owners because leash laws are posted EVERYWHERE I walk my dogs, but not heeded:gaah. I have seen many dogs attacked in parks by owners who insist their dogs are trained and friendly...to that I say BUNK! Do what you need to do to protect your dog, from clueless owners, whatever it takes to shield her. I prefer to be proactive rather than reactive.
 
She is spayed, I'm not sure if scents can still get more intense at certain times despite that or not?

I do try to encourage the dogs to part, but I've been worried about shoving them away, not so much for myself being bitten, but I don't want a fight to start between them, especially while they're so close to a vulnerable part of Honey.

I do want to be clear, most of the dogs we encounter, we know, they've previously interacted with Honey with no problem, they're not being unfriendly, although I get the feeling you guys agree with me that they're being pushy?

The owners we meet on leads and the ones that are near when it's happening are very quick to also come break it up. I like the idea of having something that I can gently insert between them. Do you think carrying treats that I can offer Honey to get her to step away and sit would aggravate any tensions?

I'd love a way to stop this from happening period, she's always gotten along so well with other dogs, and I can't fault her for being uncomfortable, but it makes me sad that it's interfering with her socializing with friends.

I know when I volunteer at the pet shelter and Honey's on me in the car while smells are still around she has a very strong scent...I don't know if the glands are going into overdrive because she's worried about her territory smelling of other dogs?
 
JacqueZ said:
... Do you think carrying treats that I can offer Honey to get her to step away and sit would aggravate any tensions?...
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It sounds like you have received sound advice on handling this problem moving forward. It also seems as if the other owners you encounter are at least OPEN to keeping their dogs under control. My one related thought is this: The use of a treat as a lure for Honey to move away from the other dogs that make her anxious MIGHT cause more harm than good. By that I mean, if other dogs are close enough to cause Honey anxiety, aren't they also close enough to try to compete with Honey for the proffered treat? It would seem that the tennis racket (or some other physical extension) would be a better alternative.
 
JLSOhio51 said:
The use of a treat as a lure for Honey to move away from the other dogs that make her anxious MIGHT cause more harm than good. By that I mean, if other dogs are close enough to cause Honey anxiety, aren't they also close enough to try to compete with Honey for the proffered treat? .
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I agree...bringing food into what is already a potentially tense situation could make is much worse. Once you have Honey away from the situation you can give her a treat to reassure her that all is well...but I definitely wouldn't recommend doing it while the other dogs are right there. Food can start a serious fight really fast especially when anxiety is already present.

Trini
 
Unfortunately I adopted one of the sniffers/humpers. Gus is about 8-10 years old and with me since August. I have an unknown background other than when found, he was so matted he needed to be shaved, was hypothyoid and overweight and severe arthritis.

He becomes fixated on certain dogs at the dog park and will follow them around barking and humping. It's his warped way of playing because these are dogs that he likes. His humping of unneutered males is a whole different issue. I usually give the other dog a chance to correct him before I step in. As much as I leash him for time outs, he will try and go back to the same dog. Most of these dogs will not correct him.

Coming from the humper/sniffer point of view, unless your girl is uncomfortable or nervous around the dog, I would let her be the one to correct the other dog rather than just removing her. I don't believe the other dog will stop doing it unless she is the one telling them not to.

Just to be clear, I do step in and stop him. Didn't want anyone to think I just let him run around mounting everything.
 
Agree with what the others have said about treats. I doubt you will cause a fight by removing or separating the dogs.

I have heard lots of reasons why this sort of things happens to some dogs. They say neutering/spaying changes the way a dog smells and can encourage dogs to hump them. But Cadbury was being humped long before he was spayed. Interestingly with him, he is targeted by predominantly black dogs.

Another reason suggested is that it is about dominance or bullying and shy, under confident dogs are targeted by others who think they can bully them.

My friend's dog, Muddles, will try to hump Cadbury on sight. He once tried it on Merlin and nearly lost his nose, so he never dared again:lol:

I do think how the affected dog handles these situations can either increase or decrease the problem.
 
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