Why does my dog do thiss?

ok so I have a male dog. When he is playing with other dogs and gets really excited he does this weird pouncing thing. But it isn't normal pouncing like my other dogs do. He bends down with his sticking in the air and then kicks back the dirt kind of like some dogs do after they go to the bathroom but it seems more like he is kicking back the dirt to prepare to pounce. But when he does this he never fully pounces he kind of jumps back and forth like he will go into the position i just stated and then jump towards the other dog and then jump back into the same position. It also seems like my dog is trying to mount the other dog but he never ends up mounting them, even when the other dog is very pive. It also happens to male dogs as well as female, but i believe it mostly happens around females. My dog usually does this whenever he gets really excited. He also adds very loud barks as he is pouncing back and forth. The entire time he seems like he is being playful but at the same time it looks like he just wants to mount the dog. Any ideas of why he does this and whether it is a good or bad thing?