My dog humps pillows and stuffed toys. Can this be a sign of dominance?

To display dominance is rarely why a dog humps other dogs, humans, or objects. The term dominance refers to how an individual relates to another individual, and is not a personality trait.

Dogs usually hump things when they are stressed, upset, anxious or aroused. In other words, it is a behaviour performed when the dog does not know what to do in the situation it is in. A human example of such is when people bite their nails when they feel insecure.

- Humping can be caused by anxiety/worry/fear and may function as a way to relieve tension for the dog.

- Some dogs hump to seek attention.

-Dogs can hump to calm themselves down, particularly before going to sleep (similar to sucking a thumb).

- Naturally dogs can hump if they are sexually aroused and even castrated dogs can do this.

- It can be a form of play.

- Sometimes dogs can hump another dog to “remind” it of its social status. Generally you can say that dogs that hump objects (pillows, stuffed toys, etc) do not do so to sustain a form of social status.

In conclusion, the most important thing to do is to figure out which situations cause the humping behaviour. If it is a problem you can get help from an ethologist (dog behaviour specialist)