Snow White wrote:

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I guess I was getting a bit overwhelmed at the park because I had a group of people telling me trying to tell me 10 different things about dog behavior, so I was too fed up to have a calm, polite, conversation with the owner like I should have (even though he was glaring at me). Meanwhile my poor little timid 8 month old gsd is hiding in-between my legs terrified while this stupid little dog is like compulsively humping her, lol.

So the owner didn't even care? Another reason I am not fond of dog parks. The owner should have watched the situation and took their dog out of it. Maggie had this humping dominance issue a month ago. After me pulling her off several times she got over it. (Sometimes she does it correctly). I think you shouldn't be embarrassed more the other owner. I watch my dog proactive at the dog park. I even help girls get their dogs out of fights. We have the "regulars" that all they do is sit around and talk. Sorry I like to watch my dog.

norbreedslove wrote:

Maggie doesn't even hump correctly. She humps their face...lol

sorry had to lighten the mood.

Wait, my dog isn't the only one that humps faces?!?! (Not that it's a regular occurrence, but the few times she's given it a go, that's what she went for.)

maggie would go where ever she could get to. lol

Don't forget humping is also a sign of heightened excitement!

Niraya wrote:

Don't forget humping is also a sign of heightened excitement!

Which is what Kale does haha He starts air humping right when we get out of the car at the park

My old bosses English bulldog would air hump all the time. It. Was. Hilarious. There's a video on here somewhere of Appa and Rocco when they first met. Lots of humping that day.

Oh god, whenever Fenrir "dismounts" after being told to get down, he keeps air humping even while walking away. It's so hilarious.

i would have verbally expressed my distaste for his lack of control over his dog. was he around to see what was going on? it was completely his responsibility, especially if he saw how uncomfortable it made you, and he should have called him off. GSD's are intelligent and strong willed, if the he couldn't get control of his dog he shouldn't own it, let alone take it off leash at a dog park.

i would have given him a piece of my mind.

and what you did [nudge his dog with your foot] was completely acceptable given the circumstances. i see nothing wrong with it at all. i personally would have pulled his doh off and held it away by its collar/scruff of the neck [if it didn't have a collar] and told the guy to come get his mutt in a rude was [but thats just me, lol]. because, all in all, its not the dogs fault. but again, like i said before, i see nothing wrong with how u handled it.

moreover, if she has puppies because of this incident, i will totally buy one lol

Thank god she wasn't in heat. The dog was too short to reach her properly anyway. Lol.

That's another huge reason why I want to get a second dog. I want Sura to have a playmate and I no longer have to rely on the selection at the dog park.

Snow White wrote:

Thank god she wasn't in heat. The dog was too short to reach her properly anyway. Lol.

That's another huge reason why I want to get a second dog. I want Sura to have a playmate and I no longer have to rely on the selection at the dog park.

i think a playmate is a good choice. as soon as i move into my new apartment [within the next week] and get settled, i plan on getting a companion for my colby.

A few days late but he ya go.

I’ve got a pet peeve involving the dog park: humping. My problem isn’t with the dogs that engage in the behavior (let’s call it "mounting" from now on to appease the censors); it’s with the owners’ reaction to it. Invariably, the owner of the mountee and/or mounter runs over in embarrassment, pulls the dogs apart, and spends a good part of their remaining time at the park yelling at the "offenders" to stop. Sounds like fun for everyone involved, eh?

My dog Apollo is both a humper and a humpee (sorry, mounter and mountee), and that is a good thing. Why? Because it indicates that his behavior among the other dogs is very normal. Therefore, I feel no need to intervene, which means I’ve been the recipient of numerous "will you do something about your dog" glares, which I generally ignore.

So what’s the deal with mounting? Like most behaviors, dogs do it for several different reasons. Yes, it can be sexual even in spayed and neutered pets, but this the exception rather than the rule. Another common explanation is that one dog mounts another to assert his or her dominance. That also can be true, but in these cases it is simply a form of communication between the dogs. As long as neither dog is upset by the interaction, why should we care if this is how they choose to figure out who is "top dog" in the ever changing pack structure at the park? Once the relationships are ironed out, everybody can play in accordance to the new canine rules.

Mounting behavior may also simply be a form of play. When you think about it, most play is some derivative of a normal adult behavior. Stalking, chasing, wrestling, gnawing on each other … that’s all predator-prey type stuff. If the dogs are running around having a good time and first one mounts the other and then vice-versa, there’s a good chance that they’re just messing with each other. You don’t have to worry that the generally more submissive dog is actually challenging the more dominant dog’s status and that sparks will fly.

Dogs may also mount each other because they are anxious or just fired up, both of which are common states of mind at the dog park. Mounting can be an outlet for a dog’s excitement if he or she is uncertain about the best way to join the fray. I’ve also seen it when the rough-housing starts to get out of hand. Think of it as a doggy-enforced time-out that lets everybody pause and take it down a notch.

My rule of thumb is that if the dogs involved seem relaxed and happy with whatever behavior they’re engaged in and it doesn’t pose a risk of injury, let 'em play. Isn’t the dog park a place where dogs should be allowed to be dogs for a while, instead of conforming to human rules of what constitutes acceptable public behavior?

http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2012/apr/let_dogs_be_dogs?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=20120419&utm_campaign=FullyVetted-let-dogs-be-dogs#.T5BOLbPy-8A

If my puppy had been ok with the mounting, I would have been as well, but that was not the case.

rileyflorence wrote:

My old bosses English bulldog would air hump all the time. It. Was. Hilarious. There's a video on here somewhere of Appa and Rocco when they first met. Lots of humping that day.

You know my mother in law has an english bulldog. Thats the video my husband and I noticed maggie and appa look alike. Her and buddy play like that!

lizzyduhh wrote:

i would have verbally expressed my distaste for his lack of control over his dog. was he around to see what was going on? it was completely his responsibility, especially if he saw how uncomfortable it made you, and he should have called him off. GSD's are intelligent and strong willed, if the he couldn't get control of his dog he shouldn't own it, let alone take it off leash at a dog park.

i would have given him a piece of my mind.

and what you did [nudge his dog with your foot] was completely acceptable given the circumstances. i see nothing wrong with it at all. i personally would have pulled his doh off and held it away by its collar/scruff of the neck [if it didn't have a collar] and told the guy to come get his mutt in a rude was [but thats just me, lol]. because, all in all, its not the dogs fault. but again, like i said before, i see nothing wrong with how u handled it.

:

I agree with this! 110% the other owners fault. You did the correct thing!

Very well said Len.

Good article, Len. I also enjoyed reading the comments on the article and the comments on those comments... (I actually got a happy mouse-finger and liked things I shouldn't have just trying to follow all the threads...oops... )

I think to sum up, we should not be disengaged dog owners, sitting on benches texting our BFF and ignoring red flags in our dog's behavior. Nor should we be hyper-sensitive and over-protective.

There must be a happy medium.