Dog Behaviour Unusual? - What the Cause is and What to do about it

Based on the dogs genetic running in packs, dogs prefer safety in numbers. Boredom, loneliness or frustration can leave animals feeling stressed and depressed. By Katie Cincotta and Julie Massoni

Dog Behaviour - Pack animals

Based on the dog's genetic heritage of running in packs, it's clear our dogs prefer safety in numbers, which makes for stressful living if they're constantly left alone. Boredom, loneliness or frustration can leave animals feeling stressed and depressed.

"Animals get very attached to their people so they worry and get stressed. In the wild, they suffer stress but it's fight and flight, which means the panic is over quickly. Now they take on long drawn-out stress like being bored, waiting for owners to come home," she said.

Massoni thinks some breeds have evolved so much to fit the domestic Lifestyle that they no longer crave the pack, but they do regard the relationship with their owners as a sacred bond.

Righetti also agreed that dogs want to please their masters, but demand affection in return. "They want to please their leaders and there's safety being with pack members, which is why they like to lie beside us and be around us, but still keep an eye on what's going on," she said.

One of the negative sides of companion animals is that they never get to grow up and fend for themselves, which means they stay "young" all their lives, Righetti said. Therefore, as masters, we have an obligation to sustain both their juvenile ways and their natural instincts as dogs.

"Play is restricted to juvenile age in the wild, but with pets we've kept them young by caring for them throughout their lives. Mostly it's a positive, but the negative is that you have to respond to play behaviour with balls and walks in the park," she said. Dog Behaviour.

Dog Behaviour - Bump and grind

Yes, you've probably experienced an embarrassing "mounting" moment when a dog has humped your leg while the in-laws are over, Or maybe your dog has tried it on with the frisky little poodle at the park. Strangely enough, humping isn't always about sexual appetite.

"Although humping is considered a sexual action, it can also be used to signal power and rank. Dogs do, in effect, employ humping as a way of asserting authority," veterinarian Dr Nicholas Dodman wrote on PetPlace.com. "Humping, while a nuisance for dog owners, is an interesting and biologically appropriate behaviour. It is designed by nature in the interests of procreation but also signifies power and control."

Even bitches can do it, which is testament to humping as a power play in dogs. As for the rest of our dogs' sexual antics, it's clear that no human is going to stop a virile male from getting to a bitch on heat.

Desexed animals will definitely hump less than potential breeders, but for dogs that are so humping mad that they're targeting inanimate objects (like cushions and furniture), drugs can curb the natural masturbation reflex.

Clearly, the sex drive is just as powerful in dogs as it is in humans. The difference is that they'll settle for a few seconds in the backyard - even in bad weather with a crowd of onlookers - and we mortals prefer a little romance, candlelight and some privacy, please.