Okay, my baby Enoch who is almost 5 months has been trying to mount me. This is my first male dog so I'm completely new to this. Does this have to do with pack structure or just a stage he is going through. I think I'm doing a decent job being a pack leader. I walk out of doors first, he sits before he eats etc.. My brother and I are the ones that spend the most time with him but I do all of the training. He hasn't tried to mount my brother but he has with me. Is this him trying to dominate me? If so, what could I be doing wrong where he thinks he can? Also how do you correct it? Right now I say a firm no and just pull him off of me. I can kind of gage when he looks like he is about to do it and I stop him before it happens. I notice he does it in the morning when I'm about to take him out to play. I know this may seem like a minor issue and it is. I know I'm blessed that I don't have problems with him eating poop but I definitely don't want an 80# dog mounting me no matter how much I love him. So, should I ignore him or is this a sign of me not being a strong enough pack leader?

Hi Maisha,
Is mounting the same as humping?

If so, my 4.5 month old pup has started this in the last couple of weeks.

I do the same as you, I push him off and say NO. If he continues to try I put him in the crate.

Yes it is the same thing.

He will grow out of it, just shove him off you and tell him no.

Okay, I'm good with that but he only does it to me and never my brother. What's up with that?

He sees you as a little more vulnerable and not as strong a leader as your brother.

If this is the case I don't know how to correct it. He listens to me in every aspect of his training. My brother is physically stronger than me but that shouldn't have anything to do with it. I want to make sure I nip it in the bud. If it is a stage he'll grow out of (Mike S) I'm good with that but I definitely don't want him to see me as more vulnerable than my brother since I'm the one that does most of the training. Any suggestions?

It's a matter or body language, assuredness, etc, that dogs respect. Consistancy. A certain level of aloofness- ie, not constantly heaping on the affection.

For example, I don't really pet my dog unless she has actually done something to earn it. Just being the cute, adorable dog she is, doesn't cut it. If she obeys a command, or repeats a desired behavior, then I will praise and pet her, but I don't just absently pet my dog for no real reason. Nothing in life is free.

This is what is a little frustrating because I'm trying to examine what I'm doing differently than my brother and I can't figure it out. When I come home I don't greet him at all but my brother actually does. When he is sitting or laying down nicely I pet him. I by no means am a perfect pack leader but I'm doing all the specifics that people say to do in order to be a pack leader. Now, I know my brother "rough houses" with him a lot and always dominates when they play. I don't wrestle play with him. Would this make him feel I'm more vulnerable? If this is the case should I stop my brother from playing like that? Another question to Alyssa and and Michael R. Do you guys not think this is a stage he will grow out of? Is this solely a pack structure issue?

IF it's a pack structure issue, he won't grow out of it on his own. IF it's a pack structure issue, it will only gets worse as he gets older and more sexually mature.