#dog marking

Hi! If he is neutered and has a clean bill of health, then IMO it is time to start giving him a quick pop with the leash and a firm “AH!” whenever he marks inappropriately. Be consistent about this! Only allow him to mark in appropriate locations and surfaces.

You can also teach him to potty on command which can help too. To do this, take him outside and wait for him to pee. When he does pee (in an appropriate place– grass, dirt, gravel, etc), give him a command such as “go potty,” “hurry up,” or “do your thing.”  Eventually, he will begin to associate the action of peeing with the command. Faith is trained so that whenever we get out of the car, I’ll tell her, “do your thing,” and she’ll squat to pee. This has been a tremendous help because I no longer have to walk around waiting for her to pee, and worrying about when I need to take her out if she didn’t pee beforehand.

I hope this helps! My male (Sterling) was never a marker, so I don’t have much more advice other than this. Maybe people could reblog/comment with more advice? I feel bad. I feel like I didn’t help much haha. Good luck!

How Do I Stop My Dog Marking in The House?

When we move into a new house or apartment, the first thing that we try to do is to make it our own.  We hang pictures, bring in our rugs, chairs, sofas, and tables. We fill the closets with our clothes and put our food in the refrigerator.  We do all this so that we can call it our home.  

When we place all of these things into the house or apartment, it is no longer just a house or apartment, it is a home.  When it becomes our home, it is transformed from simply a place into a refuge. It is a location where we can be safe, secure, and happy.  This is the same feeling that we all experienced when we were babies and were held in our mother’s arms.

So, what does all of this have anything to do with our dog’s peeing in our house?  Safety and potty; how does that work?  Well, it all gets back to a matter of how we determine that a place is ours.  As I just mentioned, when we are assured that “the place” is ours, we can identify that location as a safe zone.  

But still, if we accept the concept that hanging pictures and bringing our stuff into a location makes it ours and, thus, it becomes safe; how does that have anything to do with our dog lifting his leg on the kitchen wall?  It all comes down to our dog’s perception of what he needs to make this place his.  

Our dog does not have pictures or ottomans that can define the place as his. All he has is his pee. Is there anything we can do to change our dog’s need to pee on everything to make it his?