# Opinion on Marking please.



## DogsLoverr (Aug 23, 2016)

I wonder if I might get some comments about male dogs marking. Does using a belly band help the dog to stop marking inside the house to the extend he might actually be trusted without it? 

The dog I have in mind seems to know when you can see him..out of sight he will mark, so a belly band is used unless he is with someone inside the house. Any hopes the belly band will eventually make him trustworthy? 

Thanks for any comments, I put this in general hoping for a response quickly! My house is not set up to be able to watch a dog continually, so I am not sure I want to have a dog wear a belly band continually!! Appreciate any comments...


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Males dogs can learn that marking isn't permitted indoors the same as dogs learn not to per and poop in the house. I have 3 boys and no marking. You need to set up an expen and pretend your boy is s baby puppy that needs constant supervision. He's only out of the expen when you can keep both eyes on him and nothing else. If he so much as glances sideways at a vertical surface, you say "eh, eh" and run him outside, let him mark a tree, post, whatever and praise profusely and treat. Then back inside, loose to play but only if you can keep eyes on him. Repeat as much as necessary. If you can't watch him completely he is in the expen. I would only allow him out of the expen in a smallish area or tethered to you for a couple months. You have to change a habit. Also you'll need a black light and enzymatic cleaner such as Anti Icky-poo. You will need to clean anywhere he has marked indoors very thoroughly. The enzymatic cleaner is the only I know to effectively eliminate odors he can smell. A belly band may keep urine off things but isn't going to teach your dog anything. If you want him reliably trained not to mark indoors then you will need to work with him on coming to a new understanding and acceptance of this change in rules. It will take consistent effort. Even if he gets to mark just once in awhile it will reward him and make it harder to get him trained not to mark indoors. There really are no quick fixes.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

use the belly band to clean your car.:wink2: marking is a housetraining issue and should be trained as such. Airtight management, meaning crate - training and active supervision is imperative along with a reward regime for all outdoor urination (implying, of course, that you accompany him outside so reward can be well-timed) and, finally, set-ups to catch him for mistakes indoors: interrupt the START of the behaviour, hustle him outside and then reward if he goes here.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

This is such an important issue. The last thing you want is a dog that marks indoors, at other people's houses, or on one's body or property (e.g. shoes, clothing, backpack, etc.). I hate when that happens to me. Havanese are such wonderful dogs and with focused/constant potty training their 1st year, they can become dogs that others want to have around and invite into their homes. You don't want a dog that people avoid and are unwelcome.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I even had a stud dog living with me for a while when a housemate was in season. In the 3 weeks he was with me, he learned not to mark in MY house!  Admittedly, it is MUCH harder with intact males who are near an in season female. But that is not the case for the vast majority of pet owners.

Kodi is a neutered male, and even when my girls have been in heat, he has shown NO inclination to mark in the house. However, we did have ONCE incident, just a few weeks ago, when we visited a breeder's home. She had a female in heat, and a resident stud dog. Kodi SHOCKED me by marking on some floor length draperies besides doorway. Of course we caught him as soon as he started, and as Dave said, hustled him outside. (and KEPT him outside for the rest of the visit!!!) I strongly suspect that the stud dog had previously marked there, and between that and all the hormones flying around, it was too much even for Kodi, who normally doesn't lift his leg even to pee. I just wanted to make SURE that Kodi realized that this was "not OK"... even based on that one experience.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

good points Jeanne and Karen. Yeah marking in someone's home is a real problem. , especially if they have or had pets before. I give Molly about two minutes of time while I tailgate her in a new indoor environment and then I take her outside and REMIND her to do her business. Even when you go back in you need to watch like a hawk and keep her within close range while you continue your visit. Dogs mark to personalize their new homes or a new room they have been introduced to. , and to leave a message to another pet that they have smelled in someone else's home. Dogs are not quite like wolves who mark for territorial reasons. , as they are artificially confined in our homes. They will perimeter mark on your property though.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

davetgabby said:


> Dogs are not quite like wolves who mark for territorial reasons. , as they are artificially confined in our homes. They will perimeter mark on your property though.


So will little boys, as I found to my HUGE amusement, when watching my (at that time, very young) son and two friends out the window one day! ound:


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

i always thought if you had your dog fixed they don't mark. I've never had this issue with Django, was unaware that it's corrected with training. Do female dogs mark as well or only males? You learn something new every day.


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## KarMar (Jan 14, 2016)

littlebuddy said:


> i always thought if you had your dog fixed they don't mark. I've never had this issue with Django, was unaware that it's corrected with training. Do female dogs mark as well or only males? You learn something new every day.


Neutering can certainly lessen a dog's marking tendencies, but it's more about training than anything. When on walks, Mario marks occasionally, but Nino has never even stuck one leg out further than the other, let alone lifted it (and he HAS shown interest in girls, so I don't think it's a maturity thing). Female dogs certainly mark, intact more so than those that have been spayed. The kicker is that, of all of the dogs in the extended family, year old Gracie, who has been spayed, marks more than any of the boys, intact or not.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yes neutered males and females still may scent mark. Here is from Ian Dunbar on this ...

."Neutering male dogs DOES change their behavior to some extent. They are likely to roam less (if given free range) and urinate less, yet still urine mark and still use the same urination posture. Thus, scent marking is not resolved, but the frequency (hence volume of urine) is much less.?However, castration has no effect on dog-human aggression, does not make male dogs less aggressive to other dogs, alter their rank in the hierarchy, or appear to change their personality much. BUT castrated male dogs no longer smell like intact males and so this dramatically changes the behavior of other male dogs.?Castrated male dogs smell more like anoestrous females.?Other male dogs react towards castrated males as if they are females ?and so, other male dogs harass or threaten them less and hence, the behavior of the castrated male eventually changes (feeling less threatened). Castrated male dogs are involved in fewer fights with other males and their aggressiveness is reduced, not directly by castration, but indirectly by the altered behavior of other males". 
"Urinary scent marking is not the prerogative of male dogs. On the contrary, many bitches urine mark and also, many bitches will raise a leg when doing so. However, the female manner of raising a hind leg usually differs from the characteristic male leg lift posture. Male dogs stand with body weight forwards while a hind leg is abducted at the hip joint and the stifle swings out and upwards to lie above the backbone, so that urine may be jetted laterally towards some vertical object, which was in dire need of marking. Bitches, on the other hand, normally raise a hind paw which is brought forwards 
underneath the body, usually while the bitch is partially squatting. Often her rear end may be swiveled to one side to direct the urine."


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## katscleancutdogs (May 18, 2016)

My spayed Lollipop marks. 


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Emmie does not mark nor do I know any female dogs that do so.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MarinaGirl said:


> Emmie does not mark nor do I know any female dogs that do so.


Mine don't mark indoors, but Pixel overmarks where any other female pees, any chance she gets. panda does it sometimes. I think females are more likely to overmark outdoors, but I HAVE heard of females who will mark inside the house too.


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

My friend had 2 hunting dogs, litter mates who would ALWAYS mark in the house. Every time you would turn your head, the dog would be peeing on the leg of the chair! Thank goodness she had hardwood floors. Ugh.

If you place a belly band on your dog, doesn't he still pee just in the pad in the band? How does it stop the behavior? My old vet had suggested the belly band for Django when he was going through an excessive prednisone dosage and was peeing non stop, i put it on him and it was apparent it brought more anxiety then it was worth. He had it on for 5 minutes and that was the end of it. Thank goodness i work from home so the decision to remove it was a no brainer.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

littlebuddy said:


> My friend had 2 hunting dogs, litter mates who would ALWAYS mark in the house. Every time you would turn your head, the dog would be peeing on the leg of the chair! Thank goodness she had hardwood floors. Ugh.
> 
> If you place a belly band on your dog, doesn't he still pee just in the pad in the band? How does it stop the behavior? My old vet had suggested the belly band for Django when he was going through an excessive prednisone dosage and was peeing non stop, i put it on him and it was apparent it brought more anxiety then it was worth. He had it on for 5 minutes and that was the end of it. Thank goodness i work from home so the decision to remove it was a no brainer.


Yes, belly bands stop them from getting pee ON things, but doesn't stop the behavior. I do know breeders who put them on dogs while they are working on the behavior... they still keep an eagle eye on the dog, but can correct the moment the leg goes up without the need to ALSO clean up pee on the furniture or wall!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I did want to add that it IS completely possible to train intact dogs not to mark in the house. It is unusual to neuter male dogs in Europe, yet those same dogs do NOT mark in the house... because it is also part of the culture that you just train that.


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