Male marking territory

[acommondisaster]

We've got family staying with us for a few months. We have two male chihuahuas. They've brought along two male dogs - a heeler and a chihuahua. The heeler's no problem, other than my one chihuahua is constantly latched onto his back leg, humping - but the heeler doesn't seem to notice, so it's all good. The dogs all get along.

The new male chi (not quite 2 years old) is not fixed. He's marking e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g that stands still long enough for him to lift his leg and squirt on it. Will getting him fixed end the marking? Is there something else we can do? Prior to this, the only thing he marked was his master's clothes if they were left on the floor, but now he's a squirtmeister. I have a hard time believing he's not in a constant state of dehydration, with all the marking he does. Help!

 

[musiclady]

I had a dog who did that. The vet said getting him fixed would solve the problem. It didn't. We never did find a solution for him. He had to be confined to an easy clean area or put outside. He marked everything - even the baby if he was walking by! He had been fine up until around his second birthday. The neighbor's cat went in heat and that was that. Probably not the real reason but that really did affect his personality. We fenced a small area, put in a dog house and let him spend his days outside and his evenings with us in that easy clean area. While I was at work one day, someone came into my yard and poisoned him. Sad life for such a nice dog. I wish there had been a solution that worked.

 

[LostNFound]

I had a dog who did that. The vet said getting him fixed would solve the problem. It didn't. We never did find a solution for him. He had to be confined to an easy clean area or put outside. He marked everything - even the baby if he was walking by! He had been fine up until around his second birthday. The neighbor's cat went in heat and that was that. Probably not the real reason but that really did affect his personality. We fenced a small area, put in a dog house and let him spend his days outside and his evenings with us in that easy clean area. While I was at work one day, someone came into my yard and poisoned him. Sad life for such a nice dog. I wish there had been a solution that worked.

Horrible story. Maybe getting him fixed earlier would have solved the problem? I wonder...They say nuetering saves you this issue. But you were told it would also fix the issue. Maybe once they're too old it doesnt quite work that way. Ive never had this issue with dog or cat but Im one of those fix your pets nazis and fix them before they even know they have balls. (young)

Just took a 5 year old gal to be spayed. Turned out she had pyometra - a preventable disease. If the bad owners before us had her spayed in her youth this would have never happened. If the prior owners kept her- they probably would have killed her as an expensive surgery would have been off the table Im sure- since vetting the animal was optional to them in their opinion.

Moral- Spay and Nueter! Save yourself all sorts of worry and aggravation.

 

[migtig]

I have an older rescue dog that wasn't fixed until we got him. He marked, a lot, for a long time. He marked so much, that my other boy, who had been fixed since a puppy and had never been marking, started up. I wound up putting them both in belly bands. Eventually, with a ton of patience that I actually didn't have anymore, lots of cleaning and laundry, we broke them both of it.

I think this visitor chi is doing the typical marking of new area, especially since there are other dogs present. Get some belly bands for your marking house guest and encourage the owner to get him fixed. However, I do find it quite hard to believe that this dog is not doing this at his home. If he hasn't been, now that he's started, he won't stop without being fixed and trained.

 

[migtig]

Oh and training - I kept the boys on leashes and in their belly bands. I watched them like a hawk. If they lifted a leg that got a loud noise and an immediate walk outside (with belly bands removed - but I forgot a time or two) and then a kibble reward if they did it outside.

Oh and remember you need to deep clean to get the smell of urine out/off your home items. Hence all the cleaning and laundry. If they still smell urine, they'll go back and re-mark that same spot over and over. I used oxy-clean and borax for laundry, borax to soak up any carpet odors, and a vinegar/baking soda spray to clean with. You can buy Nature's Miracle from almost any pet store and use it as well.

 

[lucky_bee]

Horrible story. Maybe getting him fixed earlier would have solved the problem? I wonder...They say nuetering saves you this issue. But you were told it would also fix the issue. Maybe once they're too old it doesnt quite work that way. Ive never had this issue with dog or cat but Im one of those fix your pets nazis and fix them before they even know they have balls. (young)

Just took a 5 year old gal to be spayed. Turned out she had pyometra - a preventable disease. If the bad owners before us had her spayed in her youth this would have never happened. If the prior owners kept her- they probably would have killed her as an expensive surgery would have been off the table Im sure- since vetting the animal was optional to them in their opinion.

Moral- Spay and Nueter! Save yourself all sorts of worry and aggravation.

I'm a huge spay/neuter advocate too. Early on and ALWAYS. I still think it's a big reason why my rescue still marks every once in awhile. And she's female. She does it when she's pissed at me and around other dogs more than she prefers. Early on is most important before they even realize they have the capabilities to "mark" their territory. And "marking" is different than peeing to them, even tho it looks the same to us.

 

[frequentflier]

Belly bands. And neuter can't hurt, either.

 

[Roman]

There is a lot of good advice on here. The fact that the dog is in a new environment says that he's marking to feel more comfortable in his new surroundings. He should be neutered, and that might help the problem. In my many years of having dogs, I prefer the females because of this problem. My Grand-Chihuahua is a male, and when he comes to stay with us, he has to wear a belly-band, He's five, and was neutered while young. He doesn't do this at home for some reason.

 

[acommondisaster]

He's an escape artist with some large boy parts for a chi - the belly band doesn't work, or it's too small for his parts or too big for his body (if that makes sense); he can get it off. I think getting him fixed is going to have to happen and some training afterwards. He now poops outside when I give him the command, so he's a smart little guy. I did suggest that he be watched constantly to correct him when he marks, or if he can't be watched for awhile that he be crated, but he's managed to destroy two crates. We'll keep working at it; thanks for the suggestions and the affirmation that fixing him is the route to go.

 

[musiclady]

The belly band didn't work with mine, either. He managed to get it off or slightly out of place so it was useless. We had two dogs. The first got fixed as soon as possible. The second, the one I talked about above, didn't because he was of champion lineage and we had considered studding him out or showing him. When the marking started, we threw that out the window and had him fixed, because he was family. Sadly, if we knew it wouldn't work, he would have a least had fun during his years. We called one of the animal behavior trainers. He was in Waldorf. We would have had to drive him from CRE to Waldorf several time a week for two months, with no guarantee it would work. And the guy didn't offer retraining if it didn't work the first time. Good luck and I hope you find a solution.

 

[acommondisaster]

Luckily, I think he's only going to be with us for a few months. Prior to moving here, he only marked is favorite person's clothes if they were left on the floor and he had a favorite poop spot if he wasn't let out when he needed to go. I have some hope that he'll learn not to mark, since I've now got him pooping outside on command. Chi's are smart little dogs; they just need to know who is boss.

 

[idiganthro]

Belly bands. And neuter can't hurt, either.

I second the belly band. Our Lhasa Apso was fixed at 12 months, but he still has some marking behaviors. He doesn't mess at home, but if he visits anywhere else with us, especially if there are other animals, he sometimes scent marks. So I pack a belly band and put it on him or keep him leashed and next to me so I can correct the behavior if I see him thinking about it! Interestingly, the belly band doesn't usually get peed in. It seems to help keep him from trying to mark, but he can otherwise move around normally.

 

[vraiblonde]

Belly band worked like a charm on Apollo. He gets all bent out of shape over noises or seeing other dogs out the door/window, and mark his (my!) turf. No more of that nonsense.