Why do people get so upset when dogs hump each other in the dog park? Or when they play fight and end up rolling around on the ground.
Boo was playing with a Bernese Mountain Dog a few weeks ago, and she had Boo pinned on the ground, and ultimately sat on her. Boo was in no distress at all, and when she got tired of it, squirmed out of the way. Sure she was covered in dirt and drool, but I figure that's the price of taking your dog to play with other dogs at the dog park.
Similarly, she was wrestling with a Golden Retriever last weekend, and actually won the play fight! This time, the Golden was wriggling around on the ground. This rarely happens, and I exclaimed something to the effect that I was shocked that for once my dog hadn't "lost" the play fight. I felt this disapproving look from the Golden's parents like I was supposed to "do something" to prevent my dog from "mauling" the other dog. I'll point out that the Golden couldn't get enough of Boo and the two continued to run around the park happily for some time after that.
When she gets humped (she's a humpee, not a humper), she will typically stand there looking somewhat perturbed. Who knows what's really going through her (tiny) brain though. If she gets tired of it (which she rarely does), she will squrim away, or nip the air. I figure it's just the dogs working out their hierarchy amongst themselves.
Isn't the whole point of the dog park to let the dogs run around and play -- and roll around in the dirt -- so they can blow off some steam?
15 Pearls of Wisdom:
Um, yes. That's the point. But you can't do anything about the fact that the world is full of morons.
It really depends on the dog. Our dog is still pretty shy about the dog park, and last weekend when we went, this tiny dog kept following her around the entire enclosure and continuously trying to hump her. She was visibly uncomfortable, and the owner wasn't doing anything about it. So I had to follow them around and push the little bugger off every time he tried to mount her. Finally they left. That was really obnoxious.
If both dogs look like they're having a good time then I agree with you. Some dogs like to roll around and others like to chase each other, depending on their play style. But I feel like that experience isn't going to make her like the dog park any more. She didn't look like she was having much fun (tail between her legs almost the entire time), and I actually felt bad for bringing her there, so I don't think we'll go back anytime soon.
Z -- I sounds like the dog park wasn't for your dog regardless of whatever humping took place. It's a dominance behavior, and some dogs just don't know how to respond. Your dog sounds like she was intimidated, but are you sure your objection to the humping doesn't stem at least a *little* from your own feelings of discomfort?
My dog is a humpee, not a humper. When she gets tired of it, I leave it to her to tell the other dog. Unless there's some sort of fight going on, the dogs need to work the pecking order out for themselves.
I have a German Shepherd and a Doberman, rescue dogs. Both are males and I have found the doberman sat underneath the german shepherd in the Utility Room with a certain part of the german shepherd's anatomy in his mouth. Both dogs looked very happy lol.
Helen -- That's an enticing image! ;-)
My parents' two female standard poodles used to hump each other. After a while we stopped asking ourselves whether Lucy knew she was a girl.
Our dogs hump each other all of the time, our female dog is the humper usually. It's a dominance thing. I would say as long as no one is going to get pregnant or seriously hurt at the dog park then let the dogs have fun. I don't take my fiance to the dog park anymore because he wants to shadow his lab. I doubt that is fun for either of them.
There has only been one incident at the dog park that I took objection to. A man was walking a very large and very aggressive Akita, he couldn't even let the dog off it's leash and everytime there was some slack his dog would viciously lunge at any dog close by. No play about it. Everyone else started packing up their dogs until I finally spoke up and said that he should take his dog out.
You can delete this comment, just thought you'd enjoy this.
http://www.knuckleheadhumor.com/2010/04/letter-to-newton-my-mentally-challenged.html
I dunno. I guess there's something to be said for overprotectiveness, but in Z's case, it just sounds unnecessary to allow it to continue. Clearly the dog is acting submissive enough, so it's not entirely about the submission. And if it inhibits play with other dogs, it kind of ruins the experience for other people/dogs. Repeated, annoying humping should probably be stopped by the owner of the humping dog.
That said, I'm not squeamish about it myself. My dog is super dominant and loves humping other boy dogs especially when a female is around. But he only does it until the order is established and then it's done.
Yeah, it just sounded to me like Z's dog wasn't enjoying the dog park experience, humping notwithstanding. It sounded like Z was disappointed that her dog was intimidated by the park, and perhaps might have been displacing some of that annoyance onto the humping dog.
No doubt I could be reading too much into this -- obviously I wasn't there. That was just the feeling I got reading the comment. It is entirely possible that the humper was being obnoxious though.
Some doggies are just not suited to the dog park for one reason or another, and maybe would do better with one-on-one doggie playdates.
Yeah, that was the second time we took her to the dog park. The dog park we go to is actually very nice; it has two enclosures, one for dogs under 35 pounds and one for over. Our dog is right in the middle, so the first time around I went to the little dog area. I think she had a pretty good time; still kind of shy but sniffing the other dogs. We live in a pretty populated neighborhood so she's very well socialized with other dogs and people, at least one on one. When we took her this past weekend, the little dog enclosure was empty, so we went to the big dog enclosure. I think she was definitely intimidated by that, even though the dog that harassed her was probably five pounds, hehe. She definitely gravitated towards the picnic tables with all the humans. Ultimately the first time around was an okay experience, the second time around wasn't so great.
I thought she might like the dog park because that's the only place so far that she's run off leash, and her play style is by running around like crazy (not really physical). My boyfriend came with me the second time around and he didn't like it too much. I thought maybe if we brought her back more often she might get used to it, but ultimately like you said -- some dogs' personalities are more suited for one on one, instead of dog park free for all. So instead of forcing it, we may pass on the dog park for now.
Yeah, the whole doggie personality thing is something I hadn't really considered before getting Boo. I'm really glad she likes the dog park because *I* like the dog park. I would be sad if she didn't like it because I enjoy going. (I know, I know.)
I totally hear you on the off leash thing. Boo also likes to run around like a loon, and since we don't have a yard, it happens in our living room instead. I wish there were more enclosed open spaces to take her, or that I wasn't (for good reason) terrified of letting her off the leash, but there aren't and I am, so dog park it is. Thank goodness it works ok for her.
TDI = Therapy Dog Institute
Most hospitals allowing dogs into the building REQUIRE BOTH CGC and TDI.
CGC is basic commands - sit, stay, ...
TDI is almost hospital specific - they get trained on blips, bleeps, and smells; hospital protocol so that nothing freaks the dogs out... not all dogs make it to TDI titling (but I bet Boo could :P)
Our dog's personality is a little interesting that way. She's very outgoing, friendly, and excited when I walk her down the neighborhood, and wants to meet every dog and human out there. But the dog park is a different story. I never went to the dog park with my previous dog so I'm not heartbroken that she doesn't like it, but I thought it might be fun!
A good idea for letting your dog run around is to get a long tether (anywhere between 30 to 50 feet) and stake it into the ground in the middle of a large field. Of course, you'd have to find a large field to do so, and I'm not sure how many are around you in your area. That way you don't have to worry about trying to find a secure fenced field or her accidentally running away. It also helps to have a harness so that if she outruns the tether she doesn't get jerked around on her neck.
If i bring my dog to the dog park, i would be very uncomfortable if i saw another dog trying to hump her, but i get that it is more a human reaction on my part. I wouldn't be chasing the other dog off though (i think that would be very rude to the other owner); rather i will be rooting for my dog to sprint, since she loves to run. Then a massive run will start around the enclosure, and the dogs start running together as a pack. It is a beautiful thing to watch. I think that's a win-win situation. Dog gotta learn to stand up for herself.
This is such a funny post. My boyfriend and I were talking about the same thing on Sunday while at the dog park.
Our super friendly lab ran up to say hello to another dog (still on his leash) that had just arrived at the dog park. She was just being friendly but the owners shooed her away. I was annoyed. My dog was innocently trying to find someone to play with and the other owners seemed so bothered. Their dog looked really happy to have someone come over to her but she couldn't play with my dog freely while on the leash. What's the point of bringing your dog to the dog park if you're going to make other dogs go away?
Some people just don't get how dogs interact. Probably shouldn't have a dog then. Or like Ella said, some people are just morons.
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