New Found Testosterone
He's getting better (?) about lifting his leg, often lifting it out in the open yard. He's getting the idea of marking things but his aim is horrible, often missing the mark by a foot or more but proud of himself nonetheless. Sometimes when he goes out to pee he will make 3 or 4 stops in the same area he has peed for the 8 months he's been with us! He went on a lunch time walk today and decided he needed to mark or over-mark every mailbox in the neighborhood. He was very proud of what he thought was success. The problem came in with very strong winds and he only succeeded in coming home with BOTH front legs soaked! (he's ambidextrous, just as bad with one leg cocked as the other)  |
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Unless you like this behavior, it's best to not let him do this.....  Marking is also a learned behavior (besides hormonal). Male dogs can learn pretty easily NOT to mark everything when out walking. It just depends on the humans setting rules and guidelines.  |
| Ok, so I have never in my life had a male dog and my reasoning has been that I didn't want a male dog bec/ of the lifting of the leg and marking. I have always been around female dogs. So, I guess I am a bit naive, how do you stop this behavior? |
| Because it is new for Dex it is a little entertaining though somewhat exasperating because we get exercise also when walking him, stopping for a nature call is one thing, stopping to leave a calling card is another. Other than pulling him away, how do you stop it? And how can you tell it is a mark and not a real need? How can he tell which one he is not supposed to do? |
| teach the leave it command...with two males it a mantra on a walk. |
Quote: And how can you tell it is a mark and not a real need? Early on I use the leave-it command too... along with let's-go. Teaching dogs to relieve themselves on command is beneficial too. Before your walk, have him pee so he shouldn't have the need to do it along the way... unless it's a long walk or it involves a lot of excitement. |
Yep - as mentioned above.  My dogs learn to potty on command. Super handy skill to have. I also hate people who let their dogs pee on anything and everything - especially right outside doors and on buildings. It really gives dog owners a bad name (and many female dogs will do this too). Mine learn early on to get out and away from buildings and wait for me to give the OK to pee when we are out in public. If you are consistent and really praise, it's a fairly easy thing to train. We start walks with a potty break, and do more breaks as needed (we do long walks usually). We also are out in public a lot for therapy dog visits, shows, dog sports - and they learn pretty quick to potty on command and not mark. Really key is watching your dog and knowing them - you can stop them from marking by paying attention. If mine get that sniffy look...they get a uh-uh..some need a little lead correction to pull the nose away...and then praise. So now they know it isn't something they do when on lead. If I let them and never said anything, of course they would mark - it's a natural behavior. It's just another facet of training - like heeling, coming when called - if you don't teach them, they remain ignorant! |
| Langley (male) takes one great big pee in the beginning of the walks that's it so nice. Laika (female) does the marking for both of them. ARG! |
I think Dex got the computer and read Dawn's exception to his indiscriminant urination because he starts and ends a walk now with a pee in his yard only.  |
txbart wrote: I think Dex got the computer and read Dawn's exception to his indiscriminant urination because he starts and ends a walk now with a pee in his yard only. Appropriate peeing AND reading - wow, Dex, you rock!!  |
| Well Bentley is almost 11 months old and he still doesn't lift his leg to pee, he goes into what we call, the sprinter stance. Ultimately he ends up peeing on the back of his front legs. It's driving me nuts!! I have towels and puppy antiseptic wipes by the door, but many times I have to wash his legs. A real pain when you are in a hurry to get to work and he just peed all over himself!!. i do not know what to do about it. He is a great dog. No humping or aggressive behavior. He is still intact so he has his male hormones. |
| Bing marks outside all the time . . . when we let him! If we want him to continue walking or to stop, we say "leave it" or we anticipate the mark and make the walk a bit more brisk . . . keeping him at our side!! When he's outside on a walk it usually isn't a big deal for us, but oh my about the 3 year mark he decided he would mark INSIDE where he smelled other dogs: dog stores, breeders house, etc. He tried it here when we moved and he instantly got interrupted with a loud "no" and me actually grabbing him to move him away from the area . . . it stopped. Good luck! |
| So far Dex hasn't marked inside. In fact, the marking thing seems to have passed; like a new found skill that he bored of. He’s still an ambidextrous leg lifter, when he thinks of it, often an afterthought and doesn't matter if he's next to something or in the middle of the yard. |
| Wayne says Tiggy thinks she's a boy!! She's little Miss Alpha who has to overmark everything. I don't mind when she at the off lead park but it is an extremely annoying habit when we're training agility especially when we're on the indoor turf as it's a major clean up effort. It took perserverance but I haven't had to do the clean up on indoor turf for weeks now. I taught a "head up" command, as it's when she's walking around with her nose glued to the ground that instinct takes over and she needs to overmark. I did this by watching her like a hawk (yes a few dud lessons because I focussed on Tiggy more than the instructor but all for a good cause). Whenever she put her head down to sniff I'd actually reach down and physically lift her head up and then we'd quickly walk a few feet away with a treat and the "let's go" command which she already knew. I did it this way because once she got her head down and sniffing I couldn't get her away fast enough and more importantly I didn't like dragging her by the lead and collar and she usually pee'd as I dragged her anyway. I would also firmly tell her "no" if she did pee. Last week we almost had an indoor pee as a bird had got in the building a pooped on the turf and she stopped while off lead doing jumps to sniff the poop. She started to squat just as I got to her and a "head up" followed by grabbing her collar and saying "let's go" actually stopped her peeing, so I think it was worth the few weeks of not always hearing the instructor due to watching and correcting Tiggy. I'm using the strategy outside as well and it's helping but not as much yet as the outdoor smells soooo much better. |
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