My 3 Month Old Female Puppy is beginning to hump her toys

by ChaQuita
(Texas)

My 3 Month old Female shih tzu is beginning to hump her toy animal. She is not spayed.

This began when we took a vacation and left her at a pet sitter who also had a 9 month old male shih tzu she was watching.

Will this have anything to do with way she wants to hump her toys? Should we stop her when we see her doing this? Please help...




Hi ChaQuita
This is a pretty common puppy behavior, and it's usually a dominance issue. It's quite likely that being with the other pup triggered this, as she may have felt the need to try and show him 'who was boss'.

This behavior may increase as she goes through adolescence, but spaying her will help to reduce her desire to 'hump' things.

When she does this, you should correct her with a firm "NO" and redirect her attention to a ball, or bone, or some kind of toy that she can't hump.

I would also recommend increasing her activity and exercise levels, work on basic puppy training with her and make sure she gets plenty of socialization. These things should all help.

Best of luck with her.