Marking

[*blackrose]

Now that Gracie and Cooper are used to the new house rules and schedule, they have gotten a LOT better. No more accidents in the house, no more getting up on the the furniture without asking, no more begging for treats, no more being nit-picky with their food (they eat it all in one portion), they understand how to operate on a tether in the yard, they are crating themselves at night now, and all is going really well.

We are still having a problem with Cooper and his marking, though. Cooper is two years old and intact. I don't really think he was every properly housebroken as a puppy - he would be let out into the yard by himself whenever he asked. So about like having a dog door. But he's not peeing in the house so much as he is marking in the house.

It's a one bedroom apartment, so there isn't much space for him to go unsupervised. We've started keeping the bedroom door shut when we're in the living room because he's peed all over the bed three different times now. He'll also hike his leg on some gun cases Mike has laying in his closet.

Just this morning, I was sitting on the bed on the computer and I saw Cooper hike his leg on an egg crate mattress liner up against the wall that was in need of cleaning. Mid hike I hollered at him and he immediately ran into the other room and went belly up (that is his response to any kind of "I'm not happy with you" vibe - even if he only thinks he's in trouble). I put him outside.

How do you stop dogs from marking? We don't really want to neuter him unless we have to, but would neutering him help? I'm of the opinion that having balls doesn't make a dog mark indoors, bad training does...but obviously since he wasn't trained properly, the balls are now factoring in.

He isn't doing a full out bladder emptying like he does when he pees, nor he is defecating in the house, so do I still need to treat it like it is a house breaking issue, or is it just a marking issue?

Never had a dog that marked before, so I'm at a bit of a loss.

[Emily]

IME neutering sometimes helps if you've done everything else and the dogs needs that final "push", but it typically doesn't resolve the issue on its own. Just lessens the impulse.

Since you're in a small space already, I'd start with supervision to the nth degree, and arm yourself with a squirt bottle, shaker can, or other mild aversive. If necessary, use a tether to one of you or even an object.

Make sure you clean EVERYTHING with an enzymatic cleaner. Also, I'd provide him with things outside that he can mark. A tree, a bush, even a garden stake you jam into the grass. Reward him for even little squirts on appropriate, outdoor objects.

Little male dogs tend to be the most difficult to fix marking in, IME. There are always bellybands as a last resort - they're cheaper and safer than neutering, at least! LOL http://www.amazon.com/PlayaPup-Belly.../dp/B00266VX8E

ETA: Re whether it's a housebreaking issues or not... sort of, only unlike normally peeing in the house it's also self-rewarding. But treating it like he's not housebroken and heavily supervising will help!

[AdrianneIsabel]

^^ I agree, supervision is key and you can train it out. Also neutered dogs do mark and mark a lot, ime, but some people say it can help certain dogs.

[Emily]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

Also neutered dogs do mark and mark a lot, ime, but some people say it can help certain dogs.

Yeah for sure... the yellow streaks down our walls at work agree that neutered dogs mark a lot.

And then you have the bitches, both intact (Keeva) and spayed (client dog) who find it necessary to hike their legs on everything.

[MafiaPrincess]

Smudge was good then started indoor marking. Went back to basics, crate or on a leash.. months of good.. Give a little, free time in the kitchen.. Good for months, mark the trash.. a jacket, etc. Come to jesus meeting if caught.. Months of good, rinse and repeat.

After a year of fighting it.. I gave up neutered. Immediate end to the indoor marking. It was a last resort, but I was tired.

[*blackrose]

Originally Posted by MafiaPrincess

Smudge was good then started indoor marking. Went back to basics, crate or on a leash.. months of good.. Give a little, free time in the kitchen.. Good for months, mark the trash.. a jacket, etc. Come to jesus meeting if caught.. Months of good, rinse and repeat.

After a year of fighting it.. I gave up neutered. Immediate end to the indoor marking. It was a last resort, but I was tired.

I'm thinking we're just going to end up getting him neutered anyway. He doesn't mark if he thinks you're watching, so supervision isn't really going to work - even in places he would normally mark he won't if you are there. He marks outside, too, and I don't care about that - he just needs to not mark on the bed! Nothing worse than laying down to go to sleep and realizing the mattress reeks of dog ****. Bleh. I get paid Friday and with my 50% discount, a neuter should be less than $100 for a dog his size.

I have a weekend off this week (FIRST TIME SINCE FOREVER!!!) and I think I'm going to strip the bed down and the couch cover, wash them, then deep clean the apartment while Mike's at work. I just bought some extra strength Nature's Miracle and I swear I'm going to soak the entire apartment with it. LOL Most of the spots have been cleaned, but I'm sure he's going somewhere that we don't know about. He tends to hit cases and laundry or blankets thats been left on the floor. We'll see if the deep cleaning helps reduce his impulse any - I'm thinking it will almost make it worse because he'll be like, "ZOMG, it doesn't smell like me anymore! *pee*"

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by *blackrose

I'm thinking we're just going to end up getting him neutered anyway. He doesn't mark if he thinks you're watching, so supervision isn't really going to work -

Actually, it sounds like supervision would put an end to it...

[Laurelin]

For the record neutering also stopped Beau's habit of indoor marking. He was insane before about humping and marking and now very rarely tries anything. It hasn't stopped it altogether but it's GREATLY reduced the frequency of his marking attempts. He's the first male that we've ever had that had a marking problem. All our other males were intact and just fine.

[Romy]

A belly band will go a long way toward keeping those clean spots clean until he's trained out of it. That way he can't sneak-drip (so gross!).

And yeah, supervision. It's not the same as housebreaking at all. I trained Charlie with the solid "leave it", and treated the marking behavior as him needing to resist the impulse to do something he thought was amazingly wonderful vs. needing to empty his bladder.

You can tell when they start sniffing the pee spots. Then they sidle up to the wall... then the leg begins to lift. It works best if you catch them in the sniffing stage, interrupt it with "eh eh!" or "leave it!" and reward with a treat, or a good boy, or a chest scritch, or whatever your dog finds highly rewarding.

It also works best if he's leashed to you so you can interrupt him every. single. time. for a week or two solid. It takes time and consistency to break bad habits.

[puppydog]

Originally Posted by JessLough

Actually, it sounds like supervision would put an end to it...

Actually, its pretty darn hard when the little cr@ps won't do it when you are around. Travis won't do it at all when anyone is near him and you can't have them with you ALL the time.

What really worked for us was a nurturecalm collar. I am amazed at the difference. It ran out on Saturday and he marked the bed on Sunday. I slapped a new one on him and he has stopped again.

I am desperate to neuter him but unfortunately it would probably ruin his stud career a little. LOL