My question is does this happen in male puppies when it is not a pack structure issue or does this only happen when it is a pack structure issue? And what do you think about the rough play my brother does with him? Could that contribute to him thinking my brother is stronger and seeing me as vulnerable because I don't play with him in this manner?

I'm not a huge advocate of too much rough play with a dog, for a couple of reasons- the biggest being that I would rather see that drive and energy directed into other forms of "play", ie, training.

It's been awhile since I've had a male dog, but he may well just be experimenting. If a nice, firm "fooey" and pushing him away doesn't work, then I might worry.

Thanks Alyssa. I will tighten up on my pack structure in any way I can. I will tell my brother to cut out the rough play. When I tell him to stop and push him off he does. I tell him to sit or down afterwards and this he also does. So I can give in great detail to my brother what other reasons do you not advocate rough play?

Maisha,
Don't worry about it to much. As your relationship grows with your dog it will change, as long as you're doing what you know to be a good pack leader. Whether you play with him like your brother or not isn't really the issue. Having said that though I remind you that any interaction with your dog is going to leave him with some kind of impression, so whatever you're doing keep that in mind. Don't expect instantaneous results in something like this because relationships are built through time and effort and this is a relational issue not a training issue. Training is a different story. If it were a training issue I would expect to see the dog get it right very quickly as long as you are showing him the right picture.
What is the purpose in this dog? Another words is he a pet only or do you plan on using him for work or sport?

Mainly a pet but I am interested in getting involved with agility.

 Quote: maisha butler

Thanks Alyssa. I will tighten up on my pack structure in any way I can. I will tell my brother to cut out the rough play. When I tell him to stop and push him off he does. I tell him to sit or down afterwards and this he also does. So I can give in great detail to my brother what other reasons do you not advocate rough play?

I don't rough play with my dogs (much), because first and foremost, all that energy is very useful in training. If I have a dog that enjoys roughhousing and burns up all it's energy doing that, I have a dog that is likely to not be as motivated to work for me.

I save the rough/physical play for the training field. Tug/fetch/obedience, type work.

Second, I look at roughhousing with my dog as a potential threat to my leadership. A pack leader tends to be more aloof with the dog, and grants attention on it's own terms. It doesn't nip and whine at the other pack members to get it to play. I "play" with my dogs, but on my terms, in a situation that I can always control. I don't ever want to be in a situation where my dog could decide that it is stronger/more dominant than me.

I don't put myself into situations with my dogs, where pack leadership is ever unclear. I can be very physical with my dogs, and some might call it roughhousing. The difference is, I always "win". The deck is always stacked against the dog, and in my favor.

Roughhousing is fine with a young dog, or a dog that is submissive- but with a dog the age of yours, displaying the behavior he is, I would definitely shy away from roughhousing.

I am my dog's leader, not it's littermate.

Watch your dog's body language when it roughhouses with your brother. What is the dog telling you?

When I jostle and wrestle with my pup, her ears are down, and she tends to "lick" a lot. She's telling me up front that she's submissive.

Gah, I do everything wrong :p

I hype my dogs up whenever I see them. I am rough with them, push them around, encourage their stupidity etc. I consider it part of the dogs conditioning and training as well as fun. I pet them all the time, they don't need to earn it per se. I either tell em to sit or jump up, so I suppose you could say they are only pet when following a command, or are in a position that I want them to be in, but I don't consciously make that decision.

Two of mine are attention whores, the other two aren't. What fun is a dog if you can't have fun with them? Different people interact with their dogs in different ways, I wouldn't say that one way is right and the other way is wrong, it is down to what you expect out of having a dog. If I can't roughhouse with my dogs I might as well not have them. They have plenty of focus and drive in those dumb lil heads of theirs that they can spare a little to be stupid with their handler This is my own view. I am not saying everyone SHOULD roughhouse with their dogs, but if you want to, I wouldn't not do it in order to avoid a rank issue. The dog should be capable of respecting your authoritah no matter what you do with them, otherwise you do not have rank over the dog anyway.

Pups hump. They are figuring things out, following instinct, and I don't put much stock into any pack rank or dominance aspect based on the sexual advances of a 4 or 5 month old. That's not to say pack structure goes out the window, but leadership develops gradually over a period of time as training and bonding moves along. A puppy that humps is just acting the way his instincts tell him to act. As an adult there will be more thought behind it. If there is a rank issue then the behavior will continue as the pup realizes it's a good way to establish dominance. If not, then it will fizzle out as the dog starts thinking "hey you know what... I keep getting shoved away and told no, n i'm submissive to this person, so I'll just stop trying to have awkward looking puppies with them that look like a combination of a human leg and a German Shepherd...." OK so the conversation in his head might not go exactly like that, but you get the jist.

Why he humps one person more than another can be something as ridiculously simple as the direction in which you stand when you face the dog, or any slight leaning back or bracing. Or one persons natural posture vs. another. Or accessibility to the leg. There are certain natural postures a person can be in that automatically will prevent a dog from jumping up or humping you. Body language alone can entirely prevent jumping up, which would be the first step before being able to mount someone's leg.

JM$0.02

Mike, you ever pick one of your dogs up and spin 'em around?

My pup goes nuts for that. Pick her up in a typical "dog carry" (one arm under the butt, another around the chest), and start spinning around in place?

I was spinning my son around one day, and the pup starting barking and jumping up like "hey, me too!" I said what the hell and gave it a shot.

Goofy damned dog loves it.

Of course, that might not be as easy when she hits her adult size and weight.
But for a 45lbs pup, it's a breeze.

I have one small dog who loves that. The others not so much, but one wants to "dance" as long as I will keep doing it or one of us throws up.