Humping

[Labrador619]

Is it normal for a 20 week year old labrador to start humping things.

A lot lately he's been doing it to his pillow

[Otis'Mommy]

If they're not fixed, they will hump things during the mating seasons etc.

Likewise, a female will sometimes "hump" at another dog to show dominance.

If you're not planning on breeding your labrador, you should really consider having it fixed. If you can't afford it at your Veterinarians, a lot of times Veterinarians will suggest discounts, or places that charge a lot less.

I hope this helps!
Erin
Otis' Mommy

[petwoman]

I agree with the previous post. Dominance could be the
problem.

I recently watched a tv program about a dog with a
humping problem - even visitors to the house got humped !

This was a male husky - A dog trainer sorted out the dog's
main dominance, and a trip to vet stopped cured the humping.
(had his tackle removed ..Aaarghh!)

[patchesmom]

Also redirection of the dogs attention to appropriate behaviors will help for now, just let him know what is acceptable and what is not. He will stop. Just as nipping gets redirected to a toy or such. They can learn that humpingis not ok.
Dogs are not showing dominace at 5 months just doing natural instinctual behavior.humping when having an urge and playing inappropriately when having an urge..it's all the same.Don't make a big show about it, just redirect and praise for proper behavior.

[JustJo]

"Humping" can start to occur at very young ages in both female and male puppies. It is believed by canine behaviorists to be an "alpha" or dominence behavior NOT a sexual one. Even spayed females will display "humping" behavior...my Rockie does with her bed sometimes.

From vetinfo.com Dr. Mike answers a woman with an 8 week old puppy doing the same thing:

"I can't explain why some puppies exhibit "humping" behavior at very young ages but it seems to correlate with excitable or aggressive personalities, to some degree. I really don't know of a good deterrent, either. It is easy for the puppy to find another object to use for this behavior so taking toys away doesn't seem to help. Your vet may have some suggestions on this. It can't hurt to ask. Sometimes this is a short lived phase that puppies go through."

Obedience training is the key to stopping this behavior. Have you gone to any classes with him? Once your dog learns even the most basic obedience commands and that YOU and other humans are alpha he will stop trying to hump you. Personally I could care less if Rockie wants to hump her bed but she definitely knows better than to try it on me.

[PatchO'Pits]

Definately normal as already stated and something you should nip in the bud ASAP as well so that it doesn't become an issue