Humping problem between dog and new pup

by Gina
(Pennsylvania)

We have a 4-year-old intact male Schnauzer. Last week, we brought home two 11-week-old puppies, a male and a female. After seven days of nothing but good behavior between the established dog and the two new pups, all of a sudden, yesterday, the older dog has fixated on the female puppy and is constantly trying to mount her.

I understand this is not necessarily a sign of sexual attraction, that he may be trying to establish his dominance over her. But it's only her he bothers, he never tries to mount the male puppy. This is the part I don't understand. Why just her? Does that mean his behavior is more sexual rather than dominant? She's just a pup, and I didn't think we would have to worry about this for at least a month or two.

We are planning on getting the older male fixed in the next few months, but until then, I want to try to stop this behavior. Any help would be greatly appreciated!




Hi Gina
You're right to guess that this is mostly a dominant behavior, and it could well be that your older dog will begin to do the same with the male puppy in time.

However, being that he does seem to be 'fixated' only on the female, it's possible there is an element of sexual behavior here. I would recommend that you get the older dog neutered as soon as possible. This should reduce the problem somewhat but may not eliminate it.

You need to correct your older dog whenever he engages in this behavior, and be very consistent about the corrections. If he won't stop when told, separate them for a short period. You don't want this behavior to become a habit.

As the female puppy grows she may be less inclined to let him dominate her in this way, but for now it's important not to allow him to bully her in this way.

It's not a major problem though, and with consistent training and corrections you should be able to stop this from happening.

Best of luck.