It is often a great shock when a new dog owner finds their puppy mounting their leg; most new dog owners have no idea what to do when this happens. Sometimes the dog owner will quickly retract their leg and tell the dog no, while other times the dog owner believes that ignoring the behavior and letting the behavior dissipate on its own is the best course.
Unfortunately if the dog owner just ignores the behavior they are actually letting themselves become subordinate to their puppy, this can lead to severe behavioral problems in the long run. Some common behavioral problems for puppies left to become dominate include becoming overprotective, barking and biting.
The best way to stop your puppy from sexually mounting your leg is to immediately pull back your leg in a startling manner as soon as your puppy starts mounting it. Combine this immediate movement with a verbal command of "NO" every time the puppy begins to mount your leg or other body part. The sexual experimentation of your puppy is a normal process as they mature, but it is important as the owner to establish your dominance in the household and not allow the puppy any type of sexual mounting behavior at all around you.
If you are having an extremely hard time breaking your puppy of their pattern of sexual mounting it may be important to establish yourself as a leader again. This can be accomplished with regular obedience programs as well as some nonphysical commands. It will be necessary to distract your puppy before they began mounting, you can use food distractions but a better distraction is activities such as playing catch.
When you are dealing with a puppy that has an extreme case of sexual mounting everything they come into contact with, you may have to stop all petting and praising. For these puppies you will need to withhold all affection unless they have specifically obeyed a command. When they obey a brief command, such as sitting, you can offer them a quick rub on the back and then continue about your normal activities.
Through the process of persistence, education, and love you will be able to break your puppy of the annoying mounting of your leg or visitors in your home. With proper care and attention this type of behavior can easily fade away within a couple of weeks, if you do not give this type of behavior the proper attention it needs it can last throughout the life of your dog. Take the time necessary to train you are dog in how you want them to behave around you and the people that come into your home.
Jonh Lee is a life-long animal lover, article writer for 86pets.net; It is a pet world where connecting pet owners with trusted pet care resources.
Article by: Jonh Lee January 2, 2020