As a society, we focus quite a lot on punishing unwanted behaviours. Whether it’s the use of a Naughty Step, a speeding fine, or even prison – the intention is to decrease the probability of a behaviour recurring in the future. Humans are complex creatures. We have the ability to learn right from wrong. We are able to be educated in why our actions may be unfavourable. We have morals. However, animals are completely unable to think like us. Their brains have a largely reduced cerebral cortex – the part of our brain that is responsible for higher levels of […]

Male or female, intact or neutered, dogs hump. They hump each other. They hump our legs. They hump cushions. Sometimes they even self-pleasure. For us, it’s embarrassing. We get awkward in social situations when our dogs decide to ‘get going’. Why do they always seem to choose these social settings to show us up? Normally, humping is simply a sign of arousal. Dogs get wound up during play and they start humping. They get anxious about children who have turned up at the house running round screaming and start humping their legs. They get stressed about the building work going […]