“Humping” in our pet dogs is awkward to us because it is not a behavior that we exhibit in public. Sexually explicit behaviors are not well received in human society and are even against the law in some cases. But those social rules only apply to humans. To dogs, mounting is not particularly associated with sexual behavior. It is just another way to communicate when one cannot use words. So we have to subtract our human nature and try to think like a dog.
Mounting is a motion that expresses something. It can be sexually motivated, but doesn’t have to be, which means even females might use this behavior to communicate or even in play. In species other than canine, mounting behavior serves a variety of communication purposes. In cattle, other cows mount a fellow female herd mate that is in heat in order to signify her receptiveness to the bull. The cow’s friends do not want to mate with her, but they are interested in propagating the herd and want the bull to be aware.
In dogs, there can be many reasons for mounting. It can be a play behavior or a manifestation of stress or excitement. No matter what the motivation, if it is a behavior that you would like to stop, you can distract the dog with a substitute action that he will know earns a reward. It is important that you not make a big deal of the behavior though because if your dog was looking for a response from you and you give it, you might inadvertently reinforce the unwanted action.
Remember, dogs do not have any emotional feeling about the gesture nor do they feel any awkwardness about it, like people do. When it is driven by hormones, as in an intact male, it is more likely to be intended as a mating behavior, but females can engage in this conduct as well and nearly all puppies do as they develop social skills with other puppies and people.
If it is very consistent behavior, try to imagine why your dog might be engaging in it. Reroute her to another more socially acceptable behavior and reward that one. If you pick a high value reward and are always consistent, you will probably find that the undesirable activity will fade away. Be careful not to punish her and only redirect. You do not want her to stop communicating, only using other ways to do so. Your dog has learned to speak to communicate on your terms on so many other things. She can learn to use a different method with this too.
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