# 14 week old Biting and Humping



## ConnorH (Feb 10, 2017)

Hello all,
Me and my girlfriend have had Odin for 2 weeks. He is a 14 week old husky x finnish lapphund. 
Crate training him which he has taken to very well, doesnt cry and often gets in his bed himself!
He is doing really well with SIT, STAY and plays a solid game of indoor fetch. 
Over the last 2 days he has started to come over to me and start biting and humping. He doesnt seem to do it to anyone else in the house (my girlfriend and 2 friends also live with us)
I am trying re direction with SIT when I feel he is going to start the humping then move him onto playing with a toy.
I have read alot of articles RE dominance and others completely contradicting them! Is he trying to figure out who the "Alpha" is in our house or is this just play that he will grow out of? Should I be giving him time outs when he starts or just keep re directing him?
Many thanks
Connor


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## Mirandashell (Jan 10, 2017)

It's nothing to do with dominance. It's just his age and he will grow out of it. You just need to keep redirecting him onto something else and use the time for training him or playing with him. There's also lots of threads on here about biting with good advice. 

Not all dogs respond to the same method so you may need to be patient to find the one that works on your dog.


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## Hanwombat (Sep 5, 2013)

Certainly not 'alpha' type behaviour or dominance! Hes young and humping / biting is completely normal.
You're going down the right way with redirecting the behaviour. If he gets too bitey, then generally you should remove yourself from the room, only for a few seconds and then come back in and see if he is the same. If he continues to bite, then repeat until he stops OR you could try redirecting the biting onto a toy if you feel he is going to do it.

Does he start to hump when he is quite excited? Over arousal can usually spur them on to wanting to hump. But if you do feel he is doing to jump you could ask for a alternative behaviour such as a sit as you have been doing, or even teach him a hand touch.. removing yourself from the room is also another thing you could do.

Remember if you do remove yourself from the room, to do it only for a few seconds as because he is young he needs to realise why you have left the room and if you leave for too long then their mind soon drifts to something else and they forget the whole point.


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## Hanwombat (Sep 5, 2013)

Hes adorable too!


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## MrsCoultas (Jan 16, 2017)

I'm going through exactly the same thing with biting and he was humping too, at 10 weeks old! I have found doing mental stimulation, rather than just physical stimulation, so stuffed kongs, treat dispensers etc. Still waiting on the biting to calm down but it's to be expected with dogs as big as they are (mines a tamaskan, like a husky x gsd so probably quite similar size to yours!). I don't have much else to recommened other than just know you're doing well, it is easy to get frustrated and some times you just need to take a deep breath and remember it will all calm down eventually


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## ConnorH (Feb 10, 2017)

Thanks so much for the replies. Certainly given us some confindence!
This morning when he started the biting and humping. It was after his morning walk and some fetch in the garden. I brought him inside to do some training then some calm (ish) play before he went back in his crate. 

He has been great this evening. The biting started 20 minutes after I got back from work and I think that was leading to a hump! But I managed to re direct him with SIT and back to his toy. Then we have been playing in the garden.
Will continue with that and small Time outs if necessary. 
Again, thank you for the replies!
Connor


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