5 mth old being bullied and humped by other dogs

[Mircass]

Ralph is 5 months and a total softy who is friendly to both people and dogs. 
In the past week though he has been bullied by nearly every dog he has played with both male and young females.  And those who don't push him around, want to hump him (with full lipstick out), which I know is a domination thing. 
He isn't a dominant dog and makes no pretence to being one although he's not nervous.  He does the head bowing when approaching others and is respectful so he isn't the typical bothersome puppy. He immediately backs away if a dog is not sociable.
In the past he has been bullied by the occasional alpha dog but I don't understand why all of a sudden nearly every dog feels the need to do nothing but knock him over, stand over him and not let him up, constantly 'playfully' bite him to the point he starts getting annoyed and baring his teeth - although being a non-agressive dog he never goes any further.  Even when he gives warning body signs, the other dogs don't back off. 
Normally we walk off once I see he's getting annoyed and that things aren't going to improve or at times I've had to pull off the other dog. Thinking about it, nearly every dog seemed to have a 'weak' owner who either mumbles apologies/makes excuses or is too busy chatting or on phone or one woman who insisted her dog was just playing who then got bitten herself by said dog.  However thinking about it, when he comes and stands by me, the other dogs don't approach me.   
And what's more, even the smallest dog gets on top of him (dachshunds, yorkies). 
Strangely though, his longest friend - an eight month old highly sexual, alpha miniature yorkie plays nicely with him (this dog had a 12 mth old Siberian Husky toeing the line on Sunday). 
It's getting frustrating that we are constantly moving on from other dogs and he's not getting much play in the park or if he finds a nice friend, another dog will join in and pester him. 
He doesn't hump at home, he doesn't show sexual interest in females, he doesn't wander off so I don't think he's getting his full dose of hormones kicking in just yet. 
One thing I have noticed, he's started rolling in the grass, probably in fox poo.  I can't smell it on him (does fox poo smell strong?) but maybe these other dogs can? But then don't lots of other dogs roll in fox poo?
I feel so sorry for him, all he wants is a run-around with new friends.  He has one other regular friend, similar sized, same age male cockerpoo who has also started getting treated the same way by others.  Unfortunately we can't always meet up at the same time.
Hope this is just a phase or do I need to toughen him up? 
 

[JamiesGirl]

When a dog has been humped once they often give off body signals to other dogs that they aren't a threat and then other dogs are more likely to hump him. I'm shocked that so many people have let there dogs do this to him?! It's not an acceptable behaviour when greeting a new dog, although siblings may hump each other and also dogs that live together. I'd be mortified if Jamie humped another dog and I'd be grabbing him straight off and walking away apologising. I'd be equally annoyed if another dog humped him! My friends springer did try but got a swift bite on the back of his neck and hasn't tried since. On any dog, not just Jamie. When dogs are young and stil entire they can be 'humpy' but this is often due to a rush of new hormones as they hit puberty and not dominance as such.
What's happening to your dog isn't your fault, it's the fault of other owners and I would have a good chat with them explaining why it's not acceptable.

[Murphys Law]

Poor Ralph.

Murphy is similar as he loves everybody and every dog he meets. He has yet to come across a dog he doesn't want to play with. Even though he is a big cocker he ddoes seem to get knocked about alot, even by smaller dogs. But he just gets up and goes back for more. One of the reasons we had him neutered was to try and put a stop to some of the dominant behaviour towards him.

I have no real advice but sending Ralph  because I know how much these lovely dogs want to play with other dogs and it must be very disheartening not to be able to.

[Archie bean]

I can really sympathise but I don't have any advice on what to do about it I'm afraid. Archie gets humped by other dogs a LOT. One pointer in the village is a real problem. He really grabs hold and I'm worried Archie could get hurt. The trouble is, Archie adores him and just doesn't seem to mind. In fact he never tells another dog to back off from this behaviour. He just lies there and takes it! I've never thought of it as a dominance thing. I've assumed that Archie is giving off some kind of feremone or something that makes him incredibly attractive.    With the exception of the pointer owner (who thinks the best way to stop it is to hit his dog with its lead.  oddly, it's recall is non-existent. Can't think why.) everyone I meet is embarrassed, apologetic and quickly removes their dog. I can't believe how rude the owners you are meeting are. I agree with JamiesGirl. They should be removing their dog, not leaving you to deal with it.
Regarding the rolling, it's not fox poo. Trust me. You'd know if it was fox poo!! 

[JamiesGirl]

I've just had a thought. If he's rolling and you can't smell anything I bet he is rolling on a bitch's scent. My friends puppy used to do that! And as a result got a lot of unwanted attention.

[Lottielove]

Poor Ralph! I'd agree it can't be fox poo. When we lived in London we had a fox come to our garden every single night and poo outside our window. Trust me you can't miss the smell!

[elaine.e]

Definitely not fox poo. You'd know from a distance, let alone close up

I'm assuming Ralph isn't castrated? Some castrated dogs seem to be very attractive to other dogs and end up being humped a lot. Something else to consider is anal glands. Dogs with anal glands that need emptying are sometimes attractive to other dogs, resulting in sniffing and humping. Dogs with prostate problems can also be sexually attractive to others, although I'm sure Ralph is too young to be having prostate problems as they typically affect older dogs.

I don't think you can toughen Ralph up, but you can help him, and I'm sure you're trying to already, by being pro-active when you're out walking and politely but firmly ask other owners to put their dogs back on lead when it looks like their dog is about to hump Ralph. To be fair to other owners, if this is happening a lot then it would seem that Ralph has become sexually attractive to other dogs for some reason, and I bet that many of those dogs don't normally hump, so their owners may well be surprised.

Dogs hump for all sorts of reasons, including sexual arousal and playful excitement. Dogs and bitches both hump, as do entire and neutered animals, but if you're saying that many of the offenders are male dogs with lipstick out it really sounds like sexual arousal and nothing to do with dominance or over excited play.

[Mircass]

I'm glad to hear that I'm right in getting annoyed with owners who don't challenge their dog's humping behaviour.  It's ridiculous that I have to pull their dogs off!  It happened again today and the owner just laughed and thought it cute.  I took a sneaky swipe with my boot whilst she wasn't looking - and it did the trick.   
I think the dog owners in central London are a different 'breed' to others, not all but many completely spoil their dogs in the wrong way or are too embarrassed to acknowledge sexual behaviour.
JamiesGirl could have a point about him rolling on a bitch's scent.  He definitely doesn't smell to me but he's constantly rolling in something here and there in the park.  Also with lack of gardens in central London, I've known people who walk their bitches when on heat, they have no choice, they just tend to do it very early or late. 
Also could female foxes be coming into season and leaving a scent?
I made an effort to stop him rolling today although he did get a few good rolls in.  But I noticed apart from one humping episode (and that dog tried with another dog also), Ralph had a good day in terms of playing, mostly with females he's met before.  Even a pair of frisky huskys didn't take much notice of him and they were looking for (and found) a victim to chase. 

Murphys Law - did castrating Murphy stop the dominant behaviour towards him?  I was planning to wait as long as possible before I have Ralph castrated (if at all) but if the dominance thing doesn't calm down, I may consider it (but still only after he's turned one).

[Archie bean]

Archie is castrated and if anything it has made him more attractive to entire makes, not less.

[Toni-UK]

I think the dog owners in central London are a different 'breed' to others, not all but many completely spoil their dogs in the wrong way or are too embarrassed to acknowledge sexual behaviour.
JamiesGirl could have a point about him rolling on a bitch's scent.  He definitely doesn't smell to me but he's constantly rolling in something here and there in the park.  Also with lack of gardens in central London, I've known people who walk their bitches when on heat, they have no choice, they just tend to do it very early or late. 

I think this is quite a sweeping generalisation, I am originally from central London and do not feel I am a different "breed" to other dog owners across country. 

Back to topic.
My own dog rolls in invisible delights which i suspect could be any urine and not just from a bitch in heat.
I also agree with Elaine, anal glands are very interesting to other dogs it can sometimes cause sexual or aggressive behaviour when they need emptying.
Just to add, owners that walk bitches in heat is not just a central London thing because of lack of gardens, they also do it where I am in the suburbs where there are plenty of gardens...so just the same "breed" of dog owner. 

[Murphys Law]

Murphy never really got humped before he was neutered but entire dogs tended to act aggressively to him and I was worried about him getting hurt.

Today was a good test. He was on the field and a big group of dogs gathered including three workers, a springer and a gorgeous field spaniel. There were also terriers and labs, about twelve dogs in all. They all played together really well together and no aggression was shown towards Murphy at all and no dog tried to hump him either.

Hopefully things will carry on like this.

[Mircass]

I knew someone would get upset at the C. London comment... I did say 'not all'.....   Obviously I don't include myself as one of those types either

To explain - I never see owners with doggy prams in case 'the baby' gets tired where my parents live (Greater London).  See it regularly in Kensington Gardens.  Along with dogs not allowed off lead because they've been groomed / the housekeeper won't be at home to wash him / she's coming to lunch later and mustn't get dirty / doggy jacket costs a fortune (yes I've heard all of these).  I've got to know some lovely doggy people with plenty of common sense but in the two boroughs of Kensington and Westminster (which is where I'm referring to) there are many who treat their dogs as accessories or helpless babies - and not just toy breeds either.  Retrievers, Spaniels, Jack Russells too. 
I don't remember, when I was younger, there being so many badly-behaved dogs around where I grew up.  Maybe it's the area, maybe it's a change in times.  Either way, whatever it is that Ralph is doing to tempt other dogs, many owners around here don't take responsibility for their dog's behaviour.  A view that is shared by some of the other owners I've got to know.

His anal glands were emptied at last trip to vet (2 weeks ago).  Did think about that too but nothing there right now.