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I have a dog (Walter) that I found dumped on the side of the road two years ago. Being the idiot I am I did not have him neutered right away. At the time I had an elderly girl dog that had lost her ability to hold her bodily functions so I had an area set up with puppy pads for her. Walter thought it was fine he went on them too. It has been two years since she left us and I had Walter fixed; he had stopped pooping/peeing where the pads were. Every once in a while he would mark a spot or two in the house.
He is now doing the marking/peeing more frequently and I need him to stop. I just got back from "PetSmart" where I bought "Nature Mirical" anti-marking fluid. I plan on giving the entire house a good mop up and applying this anti-marking stuff. I am kind of skeptical; will he just mark other areas?
Does anyone have any other advice? He is NOT going to become an outside dog. I am home usually 24/7 and any time he stands by the door I let him out so it's not that his bladder is full.
Here's Walter; I apologize for the other dogs' "exposure"
It's always a good idea to rule out something physical (like a UTI, bladder issues) when a dog's behavior changes. He might not be emptying his bladder completely outdoors if he's in pain.
As for behavioral, has anything else around the house or its activity level changed recently? If he isn't getting as much attention or is anxious/insecure about something he could use marking in an attempt to re-claim territory, reassure himself, or get more of your attention. Even if your response is negative, it is still attention. He might be feeling the need to re-train YOU. If he pees/marks and you respond by letting him outdoors or taking him on a walk, maybe that's what he wanted. You just reinforced the behavior.
Nothing has changed in his life. I am with him 24/7 and if he wants attention he gets it. I have not even seen him do the deed (peeing) so I haven't scolded him. I'll ask my vet though. Thank you for responding.
Something similar happened to me with a previous dog. Instead of waiting for him to let me know he wanted to go out, I just made sure to take him outside every couple of hours or so and then first thing in the morning. The vet said there was nothing wrong at that time except for old age.
Something similar happened to me with a previous dog. Instead of waiting for him to let me know he wanted to go out, I just made sure to take him outside every couple of hours or so and then first thing in the morning. The vet said there was nothing wrong at that time except for old age.
Walter is about three years old but a vet check wouldn't hurt. He's due for an exam in two months anyway. Thank you for responding.
We had the same problem with our dog. The solution was we had to CATCH HIM doing it and tell him NO! and take him immediately outside. Likewise, praise him when he pees outside. It was hard to do because it only takes a second to mark and you have to catch him either as the leg is going up or while he is actively marking. A second later and he might not understand what behavior you're upset about. Fortunately he learns very quickly so it's not like we had to stare at our dog 24/7 for days on end.
Another strategy is to remove the thing he is marking for awhile. One of his targets was the kitchen trash can. We tried using nature's miracle on it and the surrounding area but it didn't help. So we relocated it for a few days and when we brought it back he had 'forgotten' that was the thing he used to mark.
Some people have success using belly bands. We have never tried one.
Our dog is intact, every now and then he gets more excitable in general and that sometimes reactivates his marking behavior. We believe it's when the neighbor's dog goes into heat. Oddly enough what seems to help that is burning incense. Your dog is neutered and while that lowers a dog's testosterone level significantly, it doesn't eliminate it. Just something else to consider as you got him neutered later in life.
The anti-marking concoction seems to have slowed him down. I did catch him lifting his leg in one of his spots but told him "No" and he stopped. I'll have to see if he got the message. There are 6 "spots" he has and he hasn't marked any of them in the past week.
I have not even seen him do the deed (peeing) so I haven't scolded him.
You're going to have to start watching him closely and tell him NO! as soon as he starts sniffing something in the house where he's marked before. If you have to, having a large squirt bottle of water at the ready to aim at him usually does the trick if verbal commands don't work.
I agree with the poster who said a vet check should be step 1. You'll most likely need to bring in a urine sample which is really easy to get with a male dog. Get a cheap plastic soup ladle and while he's busy outside lifting his leg, just come up from behind and catch some of the urine in the ladle. The vet won't need much to do a simple screen for an infection.
With an infection the need to urinate can come on really quickly which is why a dog might not have the time to tell you has to go.
You can pick up a vial at the vet's beforehand or use a small, well cleaned plastic container. Let's see what the vet says. It might be as simple as a course of antibiotics that is needed to change his behavior. Good Luck! Keep us posted.
ETA: A small black light to see where his markings have been is a very valuable tool! I have one for our male dog who had had a bladder infection recently and I was surprised at where I found some of his urine. Sneaky little guy Make sure you use an enzyme cleaner to remove all traces of his scent.
I agree with the poster who said a vet check should be step 1. You'll most likely need to bring in a urine sample which is really easy to get with a male dog. Get a cheap plastic soup ladle and while he's busy outside lifting his leg, just come up from behind and catch some of the urine in the ladle. The vet won't need much to do a simple screen for an infection.
Agree with the soup ladle idea. One of my dogs was prone to UTIs and lived with diabetes so I sampled a lot of urine over the years! She had her own special (and familiar) long-handled ladle kept by the back door where her collars, the ChuckIt and leashes lived.
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Make sure you use an enzyme cleaner to remove all traces of his scent.
