# Can a dog by "gang raped" by other dogs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 7, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544 "2013-08-07T01:10:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/21 "2013-08-07T07:14:20Z")
I’d have thought dog locking would prevent gang rape. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/22 "2013-08-07T07:46:03Z")
No, it’s not unusual for multiple males to try and mate with a female in heat. Dogs don’t (usually) have emotional ties to just one mate and it’s not unusual for unsupervised females to have a litter with multiple fathers. It’s not ‘rape’ the way humans think of ‘rape’. It’s part of the animal kingdom. Human ethical or legal concepts of ‘rape’ are constructed entirely by humans. It’s not really useful to try and apply them to non-humans. That said - why didn’t the owner intervene and let her dog out unattended in the first place? (Dogs and other higher animals absolutely have long term memories. That’s why they can be trained and will remember people after long absences.) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/23 "2013-08-07T17:06:50Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [This says “dolphin rape” is an unscientific myth.](http://justingregg.com/the-dolphin-rape-myth/) I won’t say that dolphins commit “rape,” but male adolescent dolphins are a lot like male adolescent humans. They hang out together in gangs, they’re very aggressive and horny, and they sexually harrass any female dolphin who ventures onto their turf. ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/24 "2013-08-07T19:55:41Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > Rape culture and slut shamming for dogs ? LMAO > > Just when I thought the SD couldn’t get any more loony. What a dumb post. I’m the only person who brought up dog slut-shaming and I specifically said it was stupid. Everyone in the thread is saying dog rape is a dumb concept, but sometimes stupid people think stupid things. Did you even read the thread, or were you so excited to make fun of the dumb liberals on the Dope that you couldn’t be bothered? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/25 "2013-08-07T20:20:42Z")
> [@Meagan](#): > > A very good friend of mine likes to tell people that her poor sweet dog was traumatized because she was “gang raped” by a bunch of pitbulls a couple years ago. After questioning, she explained it to me, and it just seems to me that the dog was in heat and was mated with by a handful of the neighborings pitbulls over the course of a couple hours. But is that really rape? I mean, something just doesn’t sit right with me about it. Is this just a case of someone humanizing their dearly beloved pet? Without reading the thread … I’m going to say no. I don’t believe the term rape is meaningful when applied to non-human animals. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/26 "2013-08-07T23:34:45Z")
Here is what [some call a “rape rack”.](http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2008/12/does-breed-standard-require-rape-rack.html) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/27 "2013-08-08T00:40:18Z")
> [@Meagan](#): > > She claims that Kaylee is uneasy around pitbulls because of this trauma, and that she is a rape survivor. Your friend is a kook with issues. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/28 "2013-08-08T07:45:13Z")
Ducks can “gang rape” in a manner that doesn’t appear pleasant to human eyes. There are many accounts out there, possibly anecdotal, although I seem to remember one that could’ve been rape or just “bullying” on my middle school campus. Aside from that, it bears mentioning: a famous case of fucked up duck sexuality (not group): a paper on homosexual necrophiliac ducks, which [merited an Ig Nobel prize](http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/papers/duck.pdf) (pdf). On one hand I think “it’s not rape because only humans can rape” is disingenuous. On the other hand, actions that we would consider rapey are the normal mating strategy for some species (not including ducks nor dolphins, where it _may_ be common, but not typical). As for the OP’s friend, the fact that all the other dogs are called “pitbulls” makes me think two things. 1) She [believes she knows what a pitbull looks like](http://i43.tinypic.com/2nuinow.png), or 2) it sounds creepily what humans would blame every crime on [“some Puerto Rican guy”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butters%27_Very_Own_Episode) because who else would gang rape? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/29 "2013-08-08T07:54:38Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Ducks can “gang rape” in a manner that doesn’t appear pleasant to human eyes. There are many accounts out there, possibly anecdotal, although I seem to remember one that could’ve been rape or just “bullying” on my middle school campus. Aside from that, it bears mentioning: a famous case of fucked up duck sexuality (not group): a paper on homosexual necrophiliac ducks, which [merited an Ig Nobel prize](http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/papers/duck.pdf) (pdf). In ferrets/polecats, the female is stimulated to ovulate by the male basically beating her up and dragging her around. ---
**Author:** ![Faelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c77e96/32.png) [@Faelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faelyn)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/30 "2013-08-08T08:01:11Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Your friend is a kook with issues. True, but she’s my kook with issues, so what are ya gonna do? 😛 I was just wondering if this was even a real thing, and trusted the question to the good people of the Dope > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > As for the OP’s friend, the fact that all the other dogs are called “pitbulls” makes me think two things. 1) She [believes she knows what a pitbull looks like](http://i43.tinypic.com/2nuinow.png), or 2) it sounds creepily what humans would blame every crime on [“some Puerto Rican guy”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butters%27_Very_Own_Episode) because who else would gang rape? I apologize, when I used the term pitbull, I thought that was a pretty clear picture of which dog was being referred to. Pitbulls are everywhere in this city, and ask anyone what they look like and they will tell you that [this](http://http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110113185827/dogs-cats/images/4/47/Pit-bull.jpg) [is](http://www.insuranceproviders.com/Images/pitbull.jpg) [a](http://www.staffy-bull-terrier.com/img/apbt.jpg) [pitbull](http://s166.photobucket.com/user/Glock402007/media/dog-pitbull.jpg.html?t=1192690013). Again, my apologies, if I had known it was unclear I would have made it so in my OP. Don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against pitbulls. I know they can be stereotyped as a bully and dangerous, and while I personally believe its how you raise an animal that determines it’s temperament, that is neither here nor there. Bonus, [this](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqleddc9eQ1r0np7uo1_500.jpg) pitbull just made my night with his adorableness. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/31 "2013-08-09T19:22:15Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > On one hand I think “it’s not rape because only humans can rape” is disingenuous. On the other hand, actions that we would consider rapey are the normal mating strategy for some species (not including ducks nor dolphins, where it _may_ be common, but not typical). Why is it disingenuous? Rape is a legal and moral term. At core it’s about the consent of both parties, and consent is requires sentience and language. Show me a non-human animal that possesses those qualities, and I’ll grant that it can be raped. A dog can no more rape another dog than it can embezzle from one. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/32 "2013-08-09T20:10:09Z")
Why does consent require language? Are you saying deliberate sexual selection/rejection cannot happen without language? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/33 "2013-08-09T21:03:41Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Why is it disingenuous? > > Rape is a legal and moral term. At core it’s about the consent of both parties, and consent is requires sentience and language. Show me a non-human animal that possesses those qualities, and I’ll grant that it can be raped. A dog can no more rape another dog than it can embezzle from one. From [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com): > [@](#): > > rape1 [reyp] Show IPA noun, verb, raped, rap·ing. > noun > 1. > the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse. > 2. > any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person. > 3. > statutory rape. > 4. > an act of plunder, violent seizure, or abuse; despoliation; violation: the rape of the countryside. > 5. > Archaic. the act of seizing and carrying off by force. > verb (used with object) > **6. > to force to have sexual intercourse.** > 7. > to plunder (a place); despoil. > 8. > to seize, take, or carry off by force. Actually dogs can be raped. And Dolphins too. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/34 "2013-08-09T21:10:41Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > From [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com): > > Actually dogs can be raped. And Dolphins too. I hate arguing by dictionary, but I’ll point out that the two applicable definitions from your cite – 1 & 2 – include the word _person_. Dogs are not persons. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/35 "2013-08-09T21:13:53Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Ducks can “gang rape” in a manner that doesn’t appear pleasant to human eyes. There are many accounts out there, possibly anecdotal, although I seem to remember one that could’ve been rape or just “bullying” on my middle school campus. Aside from that, it bears mentioning: a famous case of fucked up duck sexuality (not group): a paper on homosexual necrophiliac ducks, which [merited an Ig Nobel prize](http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/papers/duck.pdf) (pdf). I’m always happy when I have a reason to post my most favorite link ever [http://www.cracked.com/funny-2938-duck-rape/](http://www.cracked.com/funny-2938-duck-rape/) Excerpt Now “Sexual arms race” is a pretty spicy term, but that’s exactly what’s going on. To say that drakes (male ducks) are out to fuck anything that moves implies a level of fussiness that’s simply not there. A Dutch researcher once saw one drake ravage another male’s lifeless duck-corpse for seventy-five fucking minutes. They’ll hump any species, any gender, anytime. Ducks have a mating ritual scientifically known as “rape flight”, which can involve multiple drakes attacking a single lady-duck, often drowning or pecking her to death. Ducks are not nice. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/36 "2013-08-09T21:57:23Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I hate arguing by dictionary, but I’ll point out that the two applicable definitions from your cite – 1 & 2 – include the word _person_. Dogs are not persons. Yes, but that’s completely irrelevant, as there are many definitions of rape. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/37 "2013-08-09T22:01:28Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Yes, but that’s completely irrelevant, as there are many definitions of rape. It’s irrelevant that you cited a source that directly contradicts your own argument? That’s as if I were arguing in favor of the existence of the luminiferous aether and cited the Michelson-Morley experiment. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/38 "2013-08-09T22:11:56Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I hate arguing by dictionary, but I’ll point out that the two applicable definitions from your cite – 1 & 2 – include the word _person_. Dogs are not persons. Why is definition #6 not applicable? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/39 "2013-08-09T22:17:04Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I’m always happy when I have a reason to post my most favorite link ever > [http://www.cracked.com/funny-2938-duck-rape/](http://www.cracked.com/funny-2938-duck-rape/) > > Excerpt > Now “Sexual arms race” is a pretty spicy term, but that’s exactly what’s going on. To say that drakes (male ducks) are out to fuck anything that moves implies a level of fussiness that’s simply not there. A Dutch researcher once saw one drake ravage another male’s lifeless duck-corpse for seventy-five fucking minutes. They’ll hump any species, any gender, anytime. Ducks have a mating ritual scientifically known as “rape flight”, which can involve multiple drakes attacking a single lady-duck, often drowning or pecking her to death. Ducks are not nice. Heh. Yes, it’s weird that some lady ducks have genitals that are adapted to ensure that rapists ejaculate in the wrong place. (That would be a trick worth knowing.) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544/40 "2013-08-09T22:23:00Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Why is definition #6 not applicable? Because I overlooked it. Sorry; totally my fault. That said, the psychology of non-human animals is sufficiently different from ours that I do not think we can extend human (let alone contemporary Western) notions of sexual morality to them. It is, again, like calling a dog who takes food meant (by a human) for another dog an embezzler or thief, or calling a lion that kills the cubs of a pride it has just taken over a murderer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-by-gang-raped-by-other-dogs/665544.md?page=3)