What is the reason for this behavior?

[Cheryl Hammond]

Hello everyone. I have a question about puppy behovior, I am not sure if it is abnormal or not as this is my first dog. I have a 14 month old, unneutered male cattle dog, pretty well behaved and mostly obedient, very smart and not 'humpy' at all. The only thing I've seen him try and hump is a friend's small neutered dog. Anyway, he has this habit of licking this dog's penis and sometimes of other dogs he meets. Not all of them, but always my friend's small dog, and sometimes dogs he meets at the park etc. He is not aggressive, likes people and is friendly with other dogs, though he does get on better with the females. Is this something to do with the anal gland scent? Or is it a submission thing? Or was he not socialized properly or is this normal behavior? Should I ignore it and see if he grows out of it, or do something about it? I got him from a shop, he was 11 weeks old and they said he had been there 3 weeks, so was about 8 weeks old when he left his mom. Any advice from the counsellors would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Renee]

Cheryl-

There are many reasons why dogs mount - sexual, stress, attention, play, or just plain insecurity. Regardless of the reasons behind why your dog is mounting, it is a very rude act and may provoke a dog fight.

Try to interrupt the inapproprite behavior and redirect your dog to a behavior that you find more appropriate (it could be something as simple as fetching a ball). Work on teaching your dog "off" or "leave it" and also a good recall. Many dogs have specific signals/body language that they use right before mounting. Try to recognize your dog's signals, that way you can start to interrupt the behavior before it happens.

[Cheryl Hammond]

Thanks for that advice Renee, I'll watch him more closely. What about the penis licking, is that rude dog behavior also? He does this almost obsessively with some dogs, and they sure don't seem to mind!

[Renee]

Cheryl-

I'm not sure about the obsessive genital licking... This could be related to the fact that he is still intact (a sexual behavior driven by hormones?) or maybe it is just a bad habit that gives him some kind of internal reward. I would redirect his behavior and not let him practice the obsessive licking. Some dogs might not appreciate it and this could get him into trouble...and we certainly don't want that....

[Cheryl Hammond]

Thanks Renee, I'll follow your advice and redirect him. It would be much easier if they could actually talk!