It is often difficult for pet owners to discuss certain dog behaviors, including straddling behavior. What important information should be discussed when such topics are brought up?

Veterinarians often have to discuss topics that make owners uncomfortable, including dog peeing habits or straddling behavior. However, unlike peeing, many owners do not consider straddling to be normal or acceptable behavior.

Owners often assume that straddling is a sexual behavior that will disappear once their pet is neutered. They become concerned when their dog continues to exhibit straddling behavior, especially if the dog is doing it in front of young children or visitors.

Another presupposition is that riding astride is a sign of high status. Straddle behavior may sometimes be sexual in nature or may indicate a superior-dominance-submissive relationship, but like many other behaviors, straddling may have many different causes and it is impossible to confirm without observing what is happening around us at the moment. cause.

Without knowing the context in which the behavior occurred, it is sometimes impossible to find the cause.

1. Anxiety/Excitement

Anxiety or excitement are probably the main reasons for straddling behavior in pet dogs, especially if the dog is riding an object or a human. The straddling behavior is a redirection behavior, that is, a situation-independent reaction when faced with internal emotional conflicts.

Sometimes dogs will straddle objects as a steering behavior when they encounter something that excites them (such as playing with a new toy). Sometimes dogs will straddle humans (such as visitors) when they encounter something that excites them (such as playing with a new toy). Will mount objects as a steering behavior, and sometimes dogs will mount humans (such as visitors) because they are unsure how to interact with them. We can think of straddle riding as a way for dogs to express their emotions when they are excited and have a certain reaction due to stress caused by something or a visitor.

Mounting may also be part of the attention-seeking aspect. Mounting a visitor may be a way to express your dog's excitement, but it also brings immediate attention to your dog and satisfies his attention-seeking needs.

Finally, straddling behavior may be an anxiety response to punishment. For example, the dog may be anxious after being scolded for going through the trash a few hours ago. The owner's anger means nothing to the dog, because the trash digging has already happened. However, scolding is a source of anxiety in dogs that need an outlet, so steering behavior occurs—in the form of straddling.

2. Sex

Some straddling behaviors are inherently sexual, as adult male and female dogs (whether neutered or not) can continue to engage in sexually related behaviors. While male dog sexual behavior may be driven by testosterone, it is not exclusively driven by testosterone. The results of the influence of testosterone concentration in the body show that compared with un-neutered male dogs, the sexual behavior of neutered male dogs is milder. However, sterilization does not completely eliminate sexual impulse or ability (see 1). anyway, most straddle riding is not just a reaction of sexual excitement, even if it is accompanied by pelvic thrust or penile erection.