This is not meant to be a crude question, but we were talking about sexual imprinting today in class (an animal makes a social attachment to another animal, and thus thinks it can mate with that animal, no matter what species either animal is), and it got me thinking.
When a dog attempts to mate with a human, is that a product of sexual imprinting, since the dog has been raised around humans? or is it just dog dominance behavior - the dominant pack member copulating with the subordinate pack member (i.e. humans) to establish his dominance?
Serious answers only, please!
2006-09-14 06:48:16 · 1 answers · asked by mighty_power7 7 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
It is plain old dominance. Dogs mount each other to express dominance over the other. Male dogs mount each other and female dogs have been known to demonstrate mounting behavior (clearly there is no reproductive intent here). Neutering the dog usually stops this kind of dominant behavior. Seriously, it is simple dominant behavior modulated by hormones.
2006-09-14 08:35:13 · answer #1 · answered by Rags to Riches 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋