What do you do about your dog's marking behavior when on a walk?

[Doberluv]

For those of you who have dogs that mark a lot when on a walk, what do you allow them to mark? When I had my Dobe, Lyric, from day one, I decided on a rule I would try to impliment, not only with him, but with my other dogs. I discouraged him from marking any man made thing...no concrete walls or sides of any structure, no statues, no park benches, posts for signs, no decorative things, no vehicles, no tires, no garbage cans... nothing man made, with the exception of say, a telephone pole since it is made of wood and resembles a tree.

Any time he would siddle over toward something man made, as though he were going to lift his leg, I'd tell him, "leave it" or "nah" and walk on, preventing him from practicing that behavior. I'd asap find something suitable, such as a bush, (not someone's property) tree, tall grasses...anything natural. I'd praise him for it. Over time, he seemed to be able to distinguish and never attempted to mark anything man made, fire hydrants included.

It is a pet peeve of mine when I see dogs on leashes and their owners allow them to lift their leg on the side of someone's building....like a store or a fence, a car...anything etc. I see this sometimes when I'm in Seattle, walking. I saw someone's dog lift his leg on some benches in front of a bus stop along Alki Beach, while the owner patiently waited for him to empty whatever it was he thought he'd dispense from his bladder.

At the time I began this rule with Lyric, I wasn't sure if he'd ever really distinguish between bushes, grasses, trees and concrete, plastic and even wooden walls and things. But it appeared that he did because he only would seek out those things in nature to mark and would walk without straining right past anything man made. It was more of an experiment for me and it developed over time...this behavior. So, I thought I'd share that it appears dogs are quite capable. Of couse, Lyric was a particularly intelligent dog that way. He caught onto things quite easily and aimed to work with me.

[Sweet72947]

When I walk my dogs, we are typically walking in a very woodsy area, so they are allowed to mark anywhere pretty much. When we walk through the neighborhood to get to the woodsy areas, they are not allowed to go on peoples' lawns (everyone keeps their front lawns pretty nice around here), and Benji is not allowed to mark anyone's mailboxes (Daisy, of course, doesn't try to do that).

During the rare times we are in public, they are allowed to go on grass or a bush or something. I've never let Benij mark walls or anything like that.

[Maxy24]

I let Phoebe mark trees, signs and telephone poles. We never come in contact with buildings or statues. I won't let her mark cars, trashcans, people's plants and I wouldn't let her mark a bench if she ever tried even though her piddle would never reach the actual seat. It's pretty easy to tell when she's gonna mark so I can just use the leash to move her away. For plants I don't let her sniff them either as I know she'll want to mark them so the "leave it" command works for the few plants close to the sidewalk.

[Grab]

My current dogs do not mark outside of the backyard..in fact, Aesop refuses to pee on walks at all. JulesI think would mark, but he's usually on a mission on walks, so ignores it. Our walking route doesn't pass any personal property, so in theory they could mark where they want.

[Brattina88]

Grass, fire hydrants and trees are fair game (unless its one of those "expensive trees" with a mini fence around it). Everything else pretty much no I usually interupt, and just say "lets go! lets go!" and keep GOing

[corgipower]

Trees, fire hydrants, some trash cans (people's trash cans that are at the curb for pick up, for example, are disallowed; public trash cans that are around town are allowed), utility poles, sign posts are allowed. Basically if I don't want him marking on something, I put him on a heel or a with me command.

He's never allowed to mark anything on private property or privately owned.

I don't ask my dog to know what he can and can't mark on. I do ask my dog to perform obedience and then when he's allowed to be marking, he's either "free" or he's told to go potty.

[Doberluv]

In my yard, I don't care what they mark on as long as it's not my rose bushes. Most of our walks are off leash hikes in the woods, so they can mark anything to their heart's content. Toker marks more than any boy dog I ever had. LOL. She even half way lifts her leg sometimes. She is so unfeminine. LOL.

But yeah...on leash walks, they can't mark on anyone's stuff...just what grows along side the road naturally as long as it's not on someone's property. My dogs usually wind up being finished, for the most part with their bathroom duties before we even go on walks. Even as we start out, they'll wind up going in our own yard first. Of course, marking is marking. It doesn't matter how much they've gone. LOL.

[Doberluv]

Yes, dogs should be trained to follow obedience, like to come along with you. But in my experiment, I found it interesting that it appeared like Lyric really was able to distinguish because he never attempted or looked like he was thinking about marking on a man made structure and as soon as we'd pass it, if there was a bush or something, he'd look like he'd like to go there.

[xpaeanx]

Trees, bushes, sign posts, telephone poles, the grass, and this one particular person(
who I hate)'s car...

[GSDlover_4ever]

Originally Posted by xpaeanx

Trees, bushes, sign posts, telephone poles, the grass, and this one particular person(
who I hate)'s car...

Hostile much?!

I allow marking on trees, bushes, grass and thats basically it. Usually though when walking my dog is on a "mission" and rarely sniffs around.

I think dogs are quite capable of distinguishing where and when its appropriate to do certain things. They are alot smarter than people give them credit for.