I just got a 2 year old alpha male dog and I can't stop him from lifting his leg on everything. It's even worse now that my daughter lives with me, and she has a male dog. What can I do to stop this?
By barbara from El Cajon, CA
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You absolutely need an enzymatic cleaner like "simple solution" some grocery stores carry them in the pet isle but it is usually cheaper to get them in large quantities at a pet store or Wal-mart sometimes, especially if they have marked all over the house.
I'd also call your vet to make sure they don't have urinary tract infections or something medically wrong.
Crate training.
You don't say if he is neutered or not. If he isn't, get him neutered ASAP. Also, as someone else has said have a vet examine him because he could have a bladder infection, UTI, etc.
Check via Google for canine belly bands. A male who marks is just doing what instinct tells him to do so please don't punish them. You can find individuals as well as rescue organizations that sell male belly bands for less that $10 including shipping. I don't recommend you buy the ones at the pet stores as they aren't nearly as nicely made & cost almost 3 times as much. I just got one for our Yorkie granddog & we're thrilled. Well worth the investment as keeps dog & animal lovers both happy. :)
I'm not sure if neutering a male dog will stop this habit, but it may help the dog. Also, you can buy doggie bands for an incontinent male dog to use while indoors or to eliminate the markings inside the home. Here's two links that sell them, but once you see how one is made, you might be able to make several belly bands much cheaper for the price of one:
www.amazon.com/
www.kennelkomforts.net/
We had a four year old male that started marking his territory inside. I asked my vet if neutering would help. He said at that age I had a 50/50 chance. Well, the 50/50 chance turned out to be in favor of me. The marking stopped. Plus, there is a very high incident rate of testicular and prostrate cancer in unneutered male dogs as they get older.
I do not think it will help if you get your dog neutered for the above reason. We had our jack russell/ terrier mix dog fixed at a very early age. (Maybe 2 mos. old) and he still marks his territory everywhere he goes!
Irrespective of both Dogs being castrated you have two males in competition with each other to "claim" their territory.
The first resident animal is protecting "his" home and the new-comer is simply trying to "stake his claim" Sadly your daughter may have to consider "moving" to her own accommodation. Good luck.
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Does anyone know how to stop a male dog from lifting his leg and claiming territory. I am having a big problem with this. Any helpful hints will be great.
By Sharon Rafferty from East Hampton, NY
Pet stores sell incontinent diapers for dogs as well as buying them on the internet. You might be able to find them on sale. Or you can take a towel that will wrap around the dog's body, and fold it a few times and pin together. Change it frequently during the day. (01/07/2011)
By Myrna
It's possible that I'm missing something here, I've been wrong before :-), (It's a joke! I'm trying to be light hearted, here!) None the less, I've never heard of dogs marking territory and incontinence as the same thing.
I'm just not getting "Lorelei's" suggestion of diapering a dog that marks territory, they are two completely different behavioral/health issues, each requiring a different solution. Of course an older dog may be dealing with incontinence, but marking territory is not limited to older dogs: They will start doing so, indoors, in those puppy days, if not trained otherwise. If they start developing the habit in adulthood, something else is going on and a vet consult is needed.
I'd like to add my two cents worth here if I could understand the context, but diapering a dog for "marking" seems unnatural and down right icky. Wouldn't pet and person both be happier if the dog was trained to only "mark" outside if incontinence were not an issue? Seriously, even neutered dogs still "mark" but the well trained dogs only do it outdoors. Again, what am I missing in this conversation?
I'm seriously not trying to stir up anything, but I really don't get it. Additional information would be helpful as I would like to understand. Thanks in advance for any positive input.
(01/08/2011)
By Cindy
Can someone help? My male Yorkie is marking his territory all over the house. How can I break the habit?
By Sharon Rafferty from East Hampton, NY
We recently rescued a dog that is doing this. I bought a product at Petsmart that leaves a scent on the area marked that is supposed to be a deterrent. I also bought something called a Bellyband. It is a a cover up for the business end of a male dog. So far this has worked the best. (07/28/2010)
Our 4 1/2 month old German Short Haired Pointer/Terrier mix, Elmo, at 4 months, was basically housebroken. Then another dog came into the house (we are dog watching for the next few weeks) and suddenly Elmo is peeing everywhere, in very deliberate spots, like on the couch when we are sitting with him, or right between us and the other dog. There are definite issues of territoriality and ownership going on, but I'm not sure what to do about it? Any advice?
By Simpatico from NYC
Yes, it will help; male dogs in particular need to be neutered before maturing if you are not going to breed them, because that's what they feel the need to do, that is mature dog behavior to them. Now after neutering them, you may still have some of that problem, in which case it's more a matter of retraining them.
First, wash the walls or wherever, then wipe down with bleach water or vinegar water, if necessary spray with enzyme type deodorant wherever they've sprayed. There may be other great ideas; that's just all I've got. But they are doing it precisely because they aren't neutered. (05/24/2009)
By PENNY K
It's too late for the neutering to stop the marking, because they've already learned to hike their legs. Neutering needs to be done while the dogs are puppies, when they still crouch. You will have to get rid of the urine scent, keeping in mind that dogs have awesome noses, and it is difficult. (05/25/2009)
By Wendy
It will definitely help, my 8 month old puppy was hiking his leg to mark and humping every stuffed animal in sight as well. I was worried it was too late, but got him neutered anyway as they said at the vet's it would help, and it cut both problems out completely. Was well worth it. Good luck. (05/29/2009)
By Misty
I have an 8 month old male German Shorthair puppy. He is a big dog in size yet still has the heart of a puppy. I have never had this problem with a dog before.
My 10 month old male Shi Tzu has started marking territory. He was trained well at 5 months.
What can be done when a dog continues to mark his territory in the house?
I need someone to tell me how best to get my son's dog to quit wetting on everything in sight.
I need help getting my 4 year old and 8 year old pugs to stop marking their territory! We moved into a new house and can't get them to stop.
