# Help - Puppy Marking



## tom.lockhart (Jul 3, 2014)

Hey All,

Our little man Shane is now almost 8 months old and lately he has been very tough to handle. Ill provide a little backstory into his training.

Our breeders are fantastic however written into the contract was a clause that we could not fix/neuter him until 15 months. 

When we first got Shane he lived in a 3rd story apartment, we had been able to potty/crate train him fairly well, and he would alert us to go potty, go outside, and then come back in. We had all but called him potty trained.

We then moved into a new home - 3x larger than our condo, with a pretty big back yard. When we first moved in he was great about alerting and going outside, however he did have his problems down in the lower floor. I think he associates stairs with going outside, and still does not view the lower floor as his place.

Lately however, we have been experiencing something else all together. He has become a marker, and does not want to stop for any reason. We know he isn't going potty, because we will literally bring him back in from going potty, and he will run over and mark, right in front of us.

With the marking has come lifting his leg, and he has certain spots he loves to Mark. In front of both doors to the outside, he marks on the curtains and the mats that we leave for wiping feet. We always use an enzyme cleaner and clean the area immediately but he continues to go. We have to leave all of our doors shut, and if even one opens for a second, he will run in and mark really quick.

In reading online I've found this issue usually stems from the dog maturing and that fixing could help, but that isn't an option for us. 

I am looking for any help or insight into a way to try to prevent this. We are now averaging about 1-2 marking incidents a day, and right when we thought we were over the hump. Maybe this is something he will grow out of? Again - I would be grateful for any insight into how we can prevent this!


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

These are a lifesaver:
http://www.ebay.com/bhp/dog-belly-bands

You still need to correct him when you see him do it, but at least the pee isn't on the floor, curtains etc! I waited to neuter Scudder. He started to mark around 10 months old. I took him in for his operation soon after that.....The marking stopped after he was fixed. Now he only marks outside. Since you can't neuter him yet, get a belly band and correct him overtime you see him lift his leg.

Good luck!


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

This 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 the dog for mistakes indoors: interrupt the START of the behaviour, hustle him outside and then reward if he goes here. Neutering will only help a little, it won't eliminate it totally.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

this is a quote from Ian Dunbar to me on neutering ..."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"


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## tom.lockhart (Jul 3, 2014)

Thanks everyone for the quick responses.

Well it looks like we are back to square one with potty training, Leashed everytime he goes outside, and reward as soon as he goes!

The belly band should do wonders for us as well.


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## Thebean28 (Jan 4, 2013)

I just wanted to second the Belly Band. That was a LIFE SAVER for us. Our boy was marking before he was neutered and he seemed to just like to lift his leg. I was taking him out every 30 minutes and had him tethered to me and he'd still pee in front of me sometimes. Once we got the belly band, it made the training so much easier. I will say, maturing made a difference too. Once he was 1 year and with the belly band, he is accident free these days and we never use it. I think the pressure of having it around them sort of reminds them not to pee, and I don't think they like the feeling if they do. He only had to pee in it once or twice to get the message. Best of luck.


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## tom.lockhart (Jul 3, 2014)

Thebean28 said:


> I just wanted to second the Belly Band. That was a LIFE SAVER for us. Our boy was marking before he was neutered and he seemed to just like to lift his leg. I was taking him out every 30 minutes and had him tethered to me and he'd still pee in front of me sometimes. Once we got the belly band, it made the training so much easier. I will say, maturing made a difference too. Once he was 1 year and with the belly band, he is accident free these days and we never use it. I think the pressure of having it around them sort of reminds them not to pee, and I don't think they like the feeling if they do. He only had to pee in it once or twice to get the message. Best of luck.


Thanks for the response, this gives me some hope. Any specific Belly Band you would recommend?


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## Thebean28 (Jan 4, 2013)

My breeder had picked a few up at a dog show, so I bought one from her, but it is similar to this one: Amazon.com : Premium Belly Band for Male Dog Training and Incontinence (Paw Print) (Small: 14-16) : Pet Supplies

It's basically a fabric strip with sturdy velcro on it. While they're getting the hang of it, you need to put a sanitary pad in it to absorb any accidents. Once he got the hang of it, I didn't have to put the pad in anymore and he stopped having accidents in it at all. I think he had 2 accidents in it before he stopped completely. Mine did try to shred the pad, so I had to trim it a bit smaller than the belly band. I think the key is that it fits snugly. That prevents leaks and I think the "pressure" from the band reminded him that he had it on and should hold it till he's outside.

Oh one other tip - pick a color different from your dog! We had a black band and our dog is jet black. There were times I would take him out to go potty and forget it was on him since it matched his fur and I'd be chasing him to take it off quickly enough 

Good Luck!

Beth


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I got mine at www.etsy.com. People make them.


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

Yes Yes Yes to belly bands! They do not replace house training as others have said, so don't let them become a crutch. But they prevent leaving a scent which, I doubt can ever 100% be removed. Dogs sense of smell is supernatural. They can smell cancer.


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