Hi I am new to this forum. As you can see by the title the problem is my dog will not stop mounting other dogs. Murphy is a 4 yr old Wheaton Terrior and neutered.
I live in NY City and we go to a dog park. I know some people do not like dog parks, but coming from Long Island (18 months ago) I needed to go somewhere he could run free. The first year was great all the dogs are fixed male and female and Murphy played beautifully with everyone. He is not aggressive at all as a matter of fact if he goes over to a dog and tries to play (usually run and wrestle) and that dog growls and has no interest Murphy walks away, he does not like confrontation.
Now he will play but he will get fixed on one dog and all he wants to do is mount him. The other dog will run Murphy runs with him but he is not doing it to play but again to mount him. When the dog lies down Murphy will still try to mount him.
I have tried squirting water at him when he does it, (it worked on a friends dog but not Murphy)
I am asking for any suggestions to get him to stop. I usually have to pull him off and sit with him awhile but as soon as I let him go he goes straight to the same dog and starts again!.
Any ideas please!!!!!

Christine

Welcome, Christine! I hope you mean it when you say "Any ideas please!!!!!"


1. He's gonna get hurt. There will be a fight and this will be the catalyst. Sooner or later, the mountee will turn on him.

2. You don't have control over him, and a dog you cannot control cannot be off leash and doesn't belong in an off-leash park (if any dog did, but I mean THIS one particularly).

None of this is mean or confrontational. This is pretty black-and-white, to my eyes. Huge (the hugest) problem with dog parks: Dogs who are not controlled by the owner. I have to tell you that this is your dog.

This can be fixed! I'll never recommend a dog park, but that aside, you can bullet-proof his obedience.

What basic ob are you doing with him?

Connie...I know Christine and her dog. This dog was never really trained for any obedience work. He is very submissive which makes this humping thing a little strange.

If he does get attacked due to the humping he most likely would not even retaliate. I explained to Christine how we feel about dog parks but this dog has been going to this park for a year and where she lives this is the onloy shot at real play and exercise for her. '

All the dogs are mellow but of course I agree that one day it can be a problem.

Can you share ideas on what may be causing Murphy to behave this way suddenly and how Christine can get him to stop? He never did this before.

I told Chris she was lucky to get YOUR attention today because if anyone can make suggestions to help Murphy stop mounting its you.

Thanks

tossing out random ideas: I can't quite tell from the scenario if this is only Murphy vs. one particular dog. If it is only an issue with one dog, your could coordinate schedules with that dog's owner so that you know when the other one will be at the park and avoid those times.

If he mounts any dog, then clearly that won't work and would only be fixed by training.

Is there anything "high value" enough that you can use it to get Murphy's attention when he is in hump-mode? A fist full of liverwurst? His favorite tug toy? A squeaky? Tennis ball? That's how correcting this will have to start, IMO. You can't train him without his attention first.

 Quote: alec s. garrison

C
Can you share ideas on what may be causing Murphy to behave this way suddenly...
Thanks

Maturity? Four years of no obedience training? Because he feels like it?

 Quote: alec s. garrison

C
...how Christine can get him to stop? He never did this before.
Thanks

Obedience training is a great place to start.

My guess is this dog is not as submissive as you might think. My almost 12 month old male would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to hump my female (definitely sexual). He also previously attempted to hump people (dominance) on occasion through his puppyhood, but has stopped. But through training, he knows it is not acceptable. I used marker training to teach the command "STOP". He still gets that twinkle in his eye, but bottom line is he knows even trying means big trouble for him. Part of our problem is that he is not neutered so we are up against nature...but we will get there

 Quote: Melissa Hoyer

 Quote: Alec S. Garrison

Can you share ideas on what may be causing Murphy to behave this way suddenly... Thanks

Maturity? Four years of no obedience training? Because he feels like it? ... Obedience training is a great place to start. ... My guess is this dog is not as submissive as you might think.

I couldn't have said it better.

Truth is, it hardly matters why, IMHO, because the overriding factor is that this is going to trigger a fight.

Aside from this dog being hurt, aside from the maybe-mellow other dogs (it's a public space, right?), it's not fair to take an uncontrolled dog into a dog park.

I'd look at this as a wake-up call, and I'd be planning my basic ob campaign.

This is the place for help with that!

 Quote: Tracy Collins

... If he mounts any dog, then clearly that won't work and would only be fixed by training.

 Quote: Chris Connolly

As you can see by the title the problem is my dog will not stop mounting other dogs.

I think it's dogs plural.

It's not going to matter if her dog retaliates or not.

Especially at a dog park, because im telling you right now if her dog is attacked for the mounting, other dogs will possibly jump in.

put the dog on a long line and when she see's her dog trying to mount she corrects.
this will only work if she catches him before he mounts.
If the dog doesn't know "off" or "leave it" a long line IMO is the only way to go.
Pulling him off & saying no when he's already mounting & humping is going to probably be taken by the dog as: ok, so it's ok to mount and hump a bit, but then i have to stop when my owner comes over.

She needs to catch the dog as soon as his feet leave the ground and when he's thinking about it.
His body language will tell her what he's about to do and that is when you would correct with either the long line, off or leave it.

I applaud Christine for recognizing the problem and seeking answers.

"put the dog on a long line and when she see's her dog trying to mount she corrects.
this will only work if she catches him before he mounts.
If the dog doesn't know "off" or "leave it" a long line IMO is the only way to go.
Pulling him off & saying no when he's already mounting & humping is going to probably be taken by the dog as: ok, so it's ok to mount and hump a bit, but then i have to stop when my owner comes over."

Good for this, and then a leave it and/or off command (all basic ob) can start where there's no distraction. We can help with that if desired.









eta
and THANK YOU, Alec.

Thank you all for your suggestions.
I will keep you posted.

Christine