The mount

Not the actual mounting Golden

The sun is just coming up and I've been up for nearly two hours already.  Dragging myself out of bed before 5:00am which is actually before 4:00 am was brutal.  Even Elsa wasn't so keen on getting up.  I hate this time change; not only is it tough to get out of bed in the morning the already fleeting days speed by even faster.  Until my body adjusts I will suffer along with the rest of you all.  Good morning.


Mount -
 1.     to go up; climb; ascend: to mount stairs.

2.

to get up on (a platform, a horse, etc.).

3.

to set or place at an elevation:

Mounting; a common occurrence in dogs but unless one if breeding a pair of dogs it is a highly undesirable behavior.  Mounting can be rooted in several different categories.  Many puppies mount others because they simply don't know what they are doing.  They can become over stimulated and mount another dog.  It is harmless but nonetheless should be stopped.

Another reason is abnormal behavior; I see obsessive mounting in a large number of pet store dogs.  You've all seen them, the dogs that latch onto stranger's legs, other dogs and pretty much anything that is mountable.

Then there is the dominance issue.  Yesterday as we left the beach we were clear off of the sand and nearing the parking lot when I heard a commotion.  I walked closer to the sand to see what it was all about; there was a large male Golden Retriever and he was mounting just about all the other dogs.  It was a good thing that we were not down by them when this was happening.  As social and forgiving as Luke is; mounting is not something that he allows and nor do many dogs. 

Mounting use to be a common occurrence in our home.  Jessie being the very dominant little thing that she was would mount the other dogs whenever she felt the need.  If they were getting a bit rowdy and she didn't approve, she'd mount them.  She was only 15 lbs so it wasn't a full body mount, just a leg mount.  The fact that the other dogs considered her to be the leader they allowed it and understood what it meant.  Later on as they got older they would sort of laugh it off.  Even still I would always step in and stop it.

As far as mounting people or strange dogs; it is a big no no.  Even within one household it can become a huge issue and lead to many problems.  I see people at dog parks allowing the behavior and it is very dangerous.  I would say that mounting is probably one of the most common fight initiatives.  

As I watched the Golden try to dominate everyone on the beach it was sad.  This one dog was ruining everyone's time and you could see it on the faces of the owners.  DO NOT ALLOW MOUNTING.  I remember many years ago when I was at a dog park to shoot different dog behaviors.  There was a man in attendance with his small black scruffy dog, it looked like maybe a Lhasa Apso mix.  The dog was going through all the dogs on the small dog side of the park and mounting them; really aggressively mounting them.  There was growling and biting as well.  

One other gentleman who was not okay with this went over to help his dog, he was pushing the mounting dog off with his foot.  Well this started a very heated human argument.  The guy who owned the perpetrator thought that his dog had every right to mount whomever he desired.  Wrong.  He said "'that's what dogs do."  That is what dogs do and it leads to serious fights, even worse.  

Mounting can be a behavior that is commonly used with bullies.  It can be something that a dog has been allowed to play out with their overly indulgent owner.  Then again it can be a retaliation behavior brought on by a challenge.  Mounting is not restricted to males, in fact Jessie was a girl; a very dominant girl.  No matter what starts it; STOP IT.