Pippi Matures

I wanted to share with you what I learned from my vet, should you have a puppy who is engaging in this behavior. Pippi has begun her "season" at six and a half months. She has not started to bleed, but is very hormonal, as in she is humping my leg - a lot, which I find uncomfortable. She is getting spayed on Friday but I was concerned about this new behavior and called the vet.

She was very helpful and suggested that I correct the behavior, then give her something to do, like a command - sit or down, or teach her something new. The point being Pippi is humping partly because of hormones and partly for dominance. By making her do something I want her to do, rather than just something she wants to do is the key to controlling, or altering, the behavior.

Pippi with her favorite toy of the week. 

This makes complete sense to me, and it works! I was correcting Pip as per the instructions from Jen, a terrific trainer at the Southeastern Guide Dogs here in Sarasota, where Pippi goes to school, but it wasn't completely successful until I added the job, then it worked and Pippi was distracted enough to focus on something else other than my leg.

Any other suggestions would be gratefully accepted.