What to do about mounting behavior in dogs

I know that you readers have been on pins and needles, waiting for me to return from vacation, and give you helpful hints about how to stop your dog's embarrassing leg fetish behavior.  In case you are a new reader, last time we talked about the many reasons that dog's mount aka 'hump' objects and people.  Your dog does not exhibit this behavior to humiliate you in front of company, but you do want it to stop.  So how do you go about teaching your dog this is not appropriate behavior  regardless of his motivation for it?

First of all, understanding the behavior is part of the cure, so if you haven't read the previous blog, I recommend do so now.  Secondly, if this is a new behavior, you should visit with your veterinarian to rule out possible physical causes such as illness.  Lastly, if it occurs only occasionally, you may just ignore it.  You could simply distract the dog by calling him to you, thus stopping the behavior and move on.

However if it is driving you crazy...then try these training tidbits.

• Redirect- my answer to many unwanted behaviors.  When your dog mounts, stop the behavior with a loud noise (my favorite...'aaaahhhh") and tell him what you want him to do.  I would make the substitute appropriate for the action.  If your dog is mounting out of excitement, then I want to have my dog do something quiet and calm, such as a down-stay his bed.  If your dog doesn't know how to down-stay, now is a good time to teach him. 
• Avoidance is another approach: if your dog is not placed in situations that lead to the behavior, then the behavior will not occur. 
• Although castration will not eliminate mounting, it may reduce the behavior by 50% in almost 70% of dogs, regardless of age at castration.  In about 25% of dogs, there is a great likelihood that reduction in marking behavior will also occur.