are dogs an example of sexual imprinting? or is it just dominance issues?

Question

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! I am repeating this question in the Dog section only to hopefully get more variety in answers.

Answer 1

I studied filial imprinting during my undergrad degree in Biology very briefly under 'Animal Behaviour'. They didn't mention anything about sexual imprinting, though you can find that for zebra finches in Wikipedia and I'm guessing you already learnt that one.

Given that, I'm not sure if you can compare birds and dogs directly because the latter are scientifically more intelligent (no offence but judging purely by brain size alone).

I assume what you said about "when a dog attempts to mate with a human" refers to humping behaviour?

In my experiences with dogs, I've had at least one dog in the house while growing up. They humped each other (both male/female, in random order) and occasionally us too. Usually it would be the more dominant dog (again, could be male or female) at work. Humping took place even after sterilization so hence not purely a reproductive "desire"?

Also, it is generally common for dogs to recognise their human owners as the dominant pack member so in the event that they hump the owner/other humans, it could be in my personal opinion, a sign of trying to 'take over' due to lack of leadership affirmation, because their ancestors were wolves after all and wolves live in packs where they need a leader.

During my vacation job days at a vet clinic assistant, pet owners were always advised to discipline or scold the dog when it humped them. In homes where the dog is somewhat neglected or the only one around, humping of objects such as soft toys is quite common.

In conclusion, I think it's more of a dominance issue.