# Marking while out for walks?



## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

I read awhile back that someone (Posh's mom, Amy, I think?) had resolved this issue with her Hav marking while out for walks. I'm working on it with Tucker, and he's getting better--but I could still use some input on how you resolved it.

It seems to me that there must be some bloodhound in his background! :suspicious: I've never had a dog that liked to sniff every twig, rock, bump, blade of grass...etc. like he does! I have been working on "no sniff" but I have to use it like a mantra, over, and over. Is there a better way? Just stopping when he stops is not effective with him, because he's perfectly content moving his head around in one little spot sniffing for quite some time. In fact, he'd prefer it!

Every other dog I have had didn't even like to go potty while on leash. Tucker seems to love it! I'm wondering how to break this, cause it will be a real problem if I ever get to do obedience with him. Besides, I get tired of him wanting to mark everything.

If I had the time and knew of a tracking group nearby, he'd be great as a tracking dog! (Can you picture him on the trail of a desperate criminal?! Ha!)


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Looking forward to reading useful advice. 
I basically 'taught' Pablo to stop at every tree to potty back when he was a pup and I was desperate for him to fully empty his bladder, stupid me. Then he stayed with my cousin's 2 intact, outside marking males and quickly picked up on that. If I let him, he will mark often during our walks. I now let him potty right when we get out, then walk him for a while and don't let him sniff nor mark until *I* decide it's OK for him to potty not mark. I say 'go potty' and show him where, he pees and we continue our walk without marking breaks. He is allowed to potty again at the end of our walk. Unfortunately, I don't think this will really change his marking instincts. As soon as he's off leash he will mark anyways. He will mark even more so when he's nervous/overwhelmed e.g. at Laurie's playdate.


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

Sheri, Tess & Cody are both markers. I swear Tess would be in heaven if we spent a few hours taking our walks. In fact, not only does she like to stop for the trees, fences, leaves, etc., sometimes she stops in her tracks just to smell the air! For such a little dog she can stop me in my tracks when she decides she's not walking any further.


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I think this is something that you just don't allow when walking period. I originally didn't want a male dog cause when I went walking with my friend and her dogs they marked all over the place and it made walking with her no fun. Belle learned to walk right behind them and pee. However, I don't allow her to do it while on a walk so she doesn't. Dash being intact didn't learn to mark until around other dogs that did (I shouldn't have allowed him to see this!) He will mark against the neighbor's fence and our big tree as they have intact dogs as well. He also marks behind the girls but I think he may have learned this from Belle. It is a system first Dora potties, Dash marks, Belle to mark and sometimes the later two is repeated. However, when we walk, I just don't allow them to slow down enough to even think about marking. I also don't let them sniff much but with having 3 on a walk, we treat it like a walk and if you slow down, you are going to get ran over or dragged back with the pack


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

i have never heard of this. i know marking can be an issue inside the house, and my dog never has from day one, but outside? i let django pee where he wants to pee, more so now since he's on prednisone and the meds makes him pee volumes. he never was a good walker on the leash but this is my fault because i have not been consisitant in training. i don't mind the stops here and there, i always looked at it as a way he's telling everyone he was here and stops to see who was there before he arrived. how else is he going to empty his bladder completely?


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

First of all, make sure he eliminates as soon as you go outside. No walk until he goes, and then the walk is the reward. 

On the walk, help keep his head up by shortening the lead, so he can't sniff around on the ground (will also help lessen the chance of picking up other germs). You may need to pick up the pace to keep him looking forward instead of downward. When he stops to mark, you keep going forward and pull him along as if you have a place to go. Praise him when he walks continuously.


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## Jan D (Mar 13, 2007)

What I found works also, of course only if you are on a side street with no traffic, is to walk in the middle of the road or at least away from the side of the road. This way, there is nothing in his reach that he can mark on.


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Kimberly, I do exactly what you described and it works just fine, because he quickly understands there's no stopping unless *I* choose to. I wonder if doing this consistently will cut his marking behavior in general, e.g. when off leash, hanging out in someone's yard, etc.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Kimberly, that's pretty much what I do....but, after a couple of months he still needs this constant attention by me...and I'd really like to be able to just amble along at times, relaxing. I'm not in good enough shape to briskly walk along for an hour, while keeping up cheery chatter with him, and doling out little treats to him when he's in the right spot at my leg looking up at me, (and not trip myself,) while covering ground fast enough to keep him going....(pant, pant...!) I wonder how long it will take before I've reshaped him (...or me, ha!) 

Ah well, thanks!


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

My boys are big time markers. There was one time I caught Lincoln about to mark someone's bag at an outdoor playdate, but I ran over there and grabbed his back leg and put it down with a firm NO. For a week after that, he would hesitate - leg up, down, up, then down, then deciding on a squatting pee - even though we were back home (I don't restrict him from marking in our yard.) 

So, I am wondering if I were consistent with him if he would stop marking completely or not. Frankly, I don't have the energy right now to pursue it. My boys wear belly bands when we visit other people's houses.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Jane said:


> There was one time I caught Lincoln about to mark someone's bag at an outdoor playdate, but I ran over there and grabbed his back leg and put it down with a firm NO. For a week after that, he would hesitate - leg up, down, up, then down, then deciding on a squatting pee -


I'm sorry... No, I'm not...ound: You've given me such a giggle here! Poor Lincoln! ound: Maybe I'll try to grab Tuckers leg the next time---ound: no, I really don't think I can dive that low that fast!


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Jane, LOL, Pablo did the same exact thing on Laurie's deck. It was a silver, shiny gift bag that *I* had brought (he didn;t know about that part) that he lifted his leg at. I grabbed him too and probably yelled, but that didn't keep him from lifting his leg again


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Wow! I did not know this was an issue with male dogs....I knew about the marking on the inside of a house (a bad thing), but on the outside? I just thought this was a normal thing for a male dog to do.....like his way of saying hello to the neighborhood. 

Correct me, if this is a major concern, ok?


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Ok..............I see part of the problem about marking now.


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Linda, for me the issues are that Pablo will be so distracted that he will stop in the middle of playing to mark. Also, if I were to have a yard one day, I would rather have him pee in a designated area instead of all over the place. I also don't like it when he marks other people's properties, incl. cars, street signs, etc. which he would do if I let him follow other dogs' smell. 
Another thing: females mark too, especially in this breed and quite a few of them will even lift their leg!


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Linda, it's a problem if it affects your friendships!  Some dogs don't do this so much. My Keeshond NEVER did this...nor my Sheltie, either, come to think of it, or my Elhound. Like I mentioned, I've never had a dog that did this... 

I wonder if it is more of a small dog or Havanese trait...


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

Kimberly's advice is basically what I have done to curb Posh's marking. Unfortunately, I too was thinking that she actually had to empty to her bladder so I was allowing her to pee everywhere outside. Meanwhile, she was actually marking and this translated to the inside where she embarrassed me by peeing in Jane's house, the tunnels at agility, my in-law's home (where she was banished for a while), and my mom's house. Anywhere there were other dogs around, she would mark.

I had remembered that Kimberly only allowed her dog to mark on one particular bush because she didn't want a pee here and a pee there, so I had that "a ha" moment when I realized that I could stop/control any and all marking and realized it wasn't about emptying her bladder anymore, it was about "this is mine."

Sheri, you don't have to reward with treats or even chatter during your walk. I'm a really social person who talks too much, and my walks with Posh are my only "silent" time. I need this time to really just breathe. I think that Posh enjoys this time because she is with me, alone, and she doesn't need chatter or treats. I also walk at a comfortable pace, not always brisk, but with purpose. I think of the walk as something for Posh's brain, a job, so there's no peeing at "work." I allow her to pee at the start and tell her she is a good girl if she goes. We start our walk, and if she slows down or goes over to the grass to sniff or mark I giver her a little "shht" just to get her attention, a quick little jiggle of the leash "like hello" we're working, and we keep doing our job. At the end of our walk, we end up back where we started, which usually happens , so I again give her the okay to sniff and pee.

Get to that obedience class girl! If he marks there it won't be the first time it's happened and the embarrassment might just get to fix the problem more quickly. I know that worked for us!


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

One more thing.

I stayed with my cousin in Chicago a couple weeks ago, and she has two neutered male dogs that think they should pee EVERYWHERE. It's a bit gross and time consuming, so when I was walking them I did the same thing I do with Posh. Pee before, pee after, not during "work." I gave them a quick tug and a "shht" if they went over to mark and they figured out after a while that they weren't going to get to "party" at work. I also walked with purpose, and kept their leashes loose but in control. 

Obviously, if your dog has to poop you let them stop and do this as this is not marking...


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## trueblue (Jan 22, 2008)

Aarrgh! I'm having this problem with Cricket too...but she doesn't just mark outside, she does it IN MY HOUSE. If the kids leave a towel on the floor, she pees on it. I've had to clean bat bags, book bags, etc. because she pees on anything left on the floor. I don't think it's a housebreaking issue....she goes outside every time I take her. Short of keeping her in a kennel ALL the time, which I don't want to do, I'm not sure how to stop this. But it's driving me crazy!! :frusty:


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## kelrobin (Jan 21, 2008)

Great advice, Amy and Kimberly. I have been very fortunate with Jackson. My breeder told me to have him neutered early before he lifted his leg. His father was running around in the house with a belly band trying to mark everything in the house. I almost didn't get a male for that reason. 

Jackson has yet to lift a leg, but he will stick his nose and sniff around favorite spots forever on a walk and ocassionally mark. If I am walking briskly, I simply pull him gently away and say "Heel" to get him away. Of course it's probably not much fun for him if he doesn't get to sniff! 

My old lab used to lift a leg, but has become so arthritic that he can only squat which helped Jackson mimic his behavior. I guess if Barrett tried to lift a leg now that he might fall over LOL


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

Kim are you or have you taken her to "doggy school?" I really think it was a "dominant bitch" thing with Posh. I started the "nothing in life is free" thing with her. Before she eats she has to sit and wait, before I gave her loving at all (picked her up, petting) she had to sit or do something. I am not really doing that for loving anymore, as it's so unconscious for us to give them pets, etc...love without thinking to have them "earn" it. Meanwhile, she is still not allowed to be on the couch without me, and not until I invite her "up."

When I did catch her peeing inside I really got on her. I mean I was a screaming banshee that scared even myself. I would see her start to squat run towards her yelling "no pee," pick her up and put her outside and demand she pee. I knew it wasn't a bladder issue, it was a marking issue. I think in your case, just so you actually don't have pee soaked towels, you might want to try some bitch's britches...just until you get it under control. Let me know...


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## maryam187 (Jul 18, 2007)

Pablo started lifting his leg AFTER he was neutered. We literally witnessed him staring at a dog in the park that lifted its leg in front of him and you could almost hear the 'click' in Pablo's head. Well, 1.5 minutes later he lifted his leg for the first time with me freaking out on him. Staying in Berlin for 2.5 months, where almost no dog is fixed was the icing on the cake


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Well............I will see if I can curb this problem before it gets a good start.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Posh's Mom said:


> Kimberly's advice is basically what I have done to curb Posh's marking. Unfortunately, I too was thinking that she actually had to empty to her bladder so I was allowing her to pee everywhere outside. Meanwhile, she was actually marking and this translated to the inside where she embarrassed me by peeing in Jane's house, the tunnels at agility, my in-law's home (where she was banished for a while), and my mom's house. Anywhere there were other dogs around, she would mark.
> 
> I had remembered that Kimberly only allowed her dog to mark on one particular bush because she didn't want a pee here and a pee there, so I had that "a ha" moment when I realized that I could stop/control any and all marking and realized it wasn't about emptying her bladder anymore, it was about "this is mine."
> 
> ...


Amy, thanks for your info on what you did with Posh. It's pretty much what I do with Tucker. But, if I don't walk fast enough he still finds the opportunity to every once in a while, quickly lift his leg. Rarely does he have time to actually let go before I tug him away while telling his "no sniff", but... It is getting a lot better, but, I was hoping for a quicker solution, a brilliant trick that I didn't know yet. 

He's not gone at obedience class because after he tried once I caught him real quickly and he apparently got the clue that I wasn't okay with that. A big problem with him is that he just insists with walking with his nose on the ground...can't figure out how to keep his head up without walking real fast, which I can't do for long.

Well, we keep working on it...

Oh, and he was neutered when he was about 6 months...can't remember exactly when, right now. Fortunately he doesn't go in the house, but I was OCD about that when he was little, and never gave him the chance to go in the house. Really. I kept him on a leash if I could watch him, or in the playpen if my eyes weren't on him. Well, let me see, I guess he did go a couple of times I didn't catch him, but yeah, I probably reacted like a banshee, too, when that happened. (Reminds me of my middle son's reluctance to become potty trained!)


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## Jill in Mich (Feb 24, 2008)

Sheri said:


> I was hoping for a quicker solution, a brilliant trick that I didn't know yet.


:biggrin1: That's funny. I've been thinking about how many threads (including my own) are based on this premise ---- and quicker, easier just isn't how it works, is it? Which has lead me to decide - if I'm not trainable (translated: I know I don't have the patience/desire to put in the effort it's going to take) it must not be that important to me. I keep trying to remind myself of this - with everything I do, and not just with the dogs!


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Yep, Jill, you are absolutely right, there.


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## Jane (Jun 2, 2007)

Agreed, Jill!

I'm glad Lincoln's antics gave you a laugh, Sheri! He's quite a character! :biggrin1:


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## baxterboy (Mar 17, 2009)

littlebuddy said:


> i have never heard of this. i know marking can be an issue inside the house, and my dog never has from day one, but outside? i let django pee where he wants to pee, more so now since he's on prednisone and the meds makes him pee volumes. he never was a good walker on the leash but this is my fault because i have not been consisitant in training. i don't mind the stops here and there, i always looked at it as a way he's telling everyone he was here and stops to see who was there before he arrived. how else is he going to empty his bladder completely?


I agree--- I actually read that allowing dogs to mark their territory outside "gets it out of their system" so to speak so they are more likely to respond to a no marking rule inside. We had a brief period of marking with Baxter (inside) and quickly moved up his neutering date. Since he's been neutered he has not marked inside, but does 2 or 3 times on a 15-20 minute walk. That's not anything I can't live with (although he stops to sniff more than that...) so I let him be. I guess what I had read came from the school of thought that if yougive the dog opportunities to assert their dominance in an appropriate setting, they will be more apt to follow your rules about where it is NOT appropriate.


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

I glanced at this thread title and thought it said Making Out While On Walks! I'm such a dork.


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## SMARTY (Apr 19, 2007)

Originally Posted by Sheri 
I was hoping for a quicker solution, a brilliant trick that I didn't know yet

The only brilliant solution I have found is the Premier Gentle Leader, it worked like a miracle. I put it on Smarty when we get to the park, let her pee and poop if she needs too, then off we go with no more stopping. You need to follow the instruction on the video that comes with it. You can buy them on line, at Petco or Pet Smart

http://www.doggy-gifts.com/Leash_and_Collar/Premier-Pet


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

ivyagogo said:


> I glanced at this thread title and thought it said Making Out While On Walks! I'm such a dork.


Ivy, it sounds like you might have lots more fun while out walking than I do, since that's what your mind came up with when reading the title! :suspicious:

ound:


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

ivyagogo said:


> I glanced at this thread title and thought it said Making Out While On Walks! I'm such a dork.


only when you're with edward right ivy?!  yes, i finished twilight today. yesterday i think i read 300 pages. this is going to sound ridiculous, but i actually had a boyfriend that treated me and revered me like that once, if he would have been a vampire i might of stayed with him, his adoration was sometimes nauseating as was his good looks and all the attention he got from other women. well, i broke up with him and he became a priest. yikes.


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## ivyagogo (Sep 11, 2007)

Amy - wow. I'd never have let a catch like that go. Have you started New Moon yet?


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## Posh's Mom (Dec 20, 2007)

You would have if you would have met his mom....I dodged a very big bullet there. Just trust me.

I will by Monday, my friend is sending it in her preschooler's back pack for me to pick up when I bring Violet to school. I guess I'll just plan on getting absolutely nothing done. Man, it's like a drug. Wish I would have written it.


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