hello everybody

This is my first ever forum so sorry if I write things in the wrong places!!!

And sorry for starting with an apology. Or two apologies!!!

My name is Polly - Hi! - and I've just got my first ever dog at the age of 57 - there's a first time for everything I suppose! It's very exciting and I'm having a wonderful time. His name is Mong and, as you can probably guess, he's a mongrel. He's absolutely adorable! As soon as I learn how to do it I'll display some photographs for you all to see.

Anyway, I actually have a little problem. What should I do if I want to ask for advice? Is there a way to send you all a question? It's a little bit of a strange question, and I'm not sure if it is OK to just come out with it.

Hi Polly! Welcome!

Congrats on your new furpal! I am sure he will be wonderful company for you & the two of you will have alot of good times together!

Post whatever questions you have and the members here will be more than happy to try to give you the best advice!

Thanks. You're very welcoming.

Well, as I said, I have a strange problem. Mong is a very lively dog - he'll keep me young, I hope! - but he seems to get 'excited' all the time (I hope you know what I mean!). I'm not sure what to do about it. Should I let him just carry on, or should I try to intervene in some way?

Edit- double post

Hi adn welcome to Chazhound! Glad to have you here!
You mean he's humping things right?

Here's a thread that mentions it.

http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41121&highlight=humping

I hope you enjoy it here. Congratulations on your first dog!

Hi badger,

Well for your first forum you've found a great place to start.

No-one is going to mind if you post to the wrong section but if you have a specific problem you'll get more answers by posting in the right thread. People who are really into and interested in dog feeding for example will always read and answer in that thread but might not follow the member intro threads so much.

When you look down the list of topics you'll see all kinds of topics. Fire Hydrant is for hanging out and talking about anything you want. There's forums especially for puppies and others for general dog stuff, behaviour, feeding etc.

SO... tell us more about Mong and send those pics.

That's very helpful. I wasn't sure how to describe it, but 'humping' will do! (My son says 'shagging', but I think that might be quite rude). There was some good advice there from Herschel, about saying 'Herschel' as a distraction, which I've decided to follow. Of course, I won't say 'Herschel' because that's not my name and would probably confuse Mong, but I'm sure 'Polly' will work just as well. I hope so, anyway, because Mong is more interested in me than in other dogs, if you know what I mean!

I'll let you know how it goes, and I'll try to get some photographs. I'm not very good with computers, but I'm going to get some photographs developed tomorrow so perhaps I can show you then.

I think I've found a good solution!

Shouting out 'Polly' didn't seem to distract him, so I've been giving him one of his treats whenever he starts to get interested in my leg. It seems to be working because he stops so he can eat. He's still 'humping' - quite often, in fact - but I think it's a good way to discourage him.

I'm quite proud of myself! I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had this problem and perhaps my idea will help someone else.

Anyway, thanks for the help.

PS Still no luck with the photos

Hi Polly....welcome to Chaz!!

Hi Denaluvscorgis! No prizes for guessing your favourite furpal (it's a lovely word that I hadn't heard before; now I'm trying to use it in every conversation!) - you're not the Queen of England, are you?

My great solution doesn't seem to be working, by the way. If anything, Mong seems keener that ever. Does anyone have any suggestions? Perhaps it's a psychological problem - like some kind of Nymphoman?

perhaps you can post this in the training section of the forum. More people will be likely to see it. How old is your dog, and is he a male or female? Is he fixed? Did he start doing this behavior right away or did he start it a little while after you got him? Does he do this to any other people or objects or just to you?

Welcome to chazhound! it's the greatest dog forum I've ever been to i know you'll love it!

Sorry i can't help too much, i've never had this problem but i'm sure plenty of people have.

Also i would discontinue giving him a treat when he starts to hump because you may be teaching him that doing this will get him something yummy. Maybe when he starts you could lift your leg up so he can't get to it and say "no" or another command like "off", and then tell him to sit (if he knows that command yet) and then give him the treat, so he associates the treat with stopping and then sitting instead of simply to distract him. once he has finished the treat show him something else to do, like play with him or take him for a walk. He may have some bottled up energy that he needs to take out and he chooses to do so on you leg I definently recommend more exercise (unless he is still a growing puppy, you don't want to over do it in that case, but a good game of tug should ware him out some), Although like i said i've never been in a situation like this so i'm not sure if this will actually work, but good luck!

Mong is seven months old and he's definately a male!

I'm not sure what you mean by 'fixed'? Is it related to injections?

Unfortunately he only seems interested in my leg - and my left leg must be quite ugly, because he only seems to like my right one! It has started in the last month or so, but I've only had him for about six weeks.

I see what you mean about giving him treats - I hadn't thought of it like that! Maybe I should give him something he won't like instead. Do you have any suggestions?

My late husband used to take some camomile tea whenever he got overexcited or worked up (he had a bad heart, you see) - perhaps something like that would work with my Mong?

I'll try to put a question on the training part if you think that's a better place for it - though everyone's so helpful here I'm sure I'll find a solution

by fixed i mean has he been neutered. If he has not than the humping is right on time with puberty. Now that his hormones are kicking in he wants to hump. If he is not neutered, you should talk to the vet about having it done, not only is it likely to stop the humping (although not a guarantee) neutering also has tons of health benefits.
No i would not give him something nasty tasting he probably just will not eat it in the first place. You could spray bitter apple spray (on your leg/pant leg) So than when he goes to hump he will be repulsed by the smell. But this will not do it alone. If you use the bitter apple spray and he goes to hump and the smells and gets off praise him for getting off your leg immediately. Also if he goes and smells your leg and then backs off give him a treat and praise him.
If you don't use the bitter apple spray (which you can find at a pet store) then do what i said in the last post about pulling your leg away while saying "off", asking him to sit and then give him a treat. Make sure he is getting exercise every day, but not too much because he is still growing.
And tea will probably not calm him but there are some dog proven remedies that might calm him some, although they will not stop the humping and being a puppy you can expect him to be super hyper and active and don't really need to use any calming remedies unless he is wicked stressed out.
Please do post in the training section, and also please ask if you have any questions about what i have written.

Welcome to the forum