# The difference between peeing and marking?



## Puptart (Jan 25, 2011)

This actually pretains to Gizmo since he's beeing peeing indoors alot DX


Now, both pups are at least 6 months old. Lately I've noticed mysterious pee stains/wet spots around the house. For the most part both puppies are potty trained and rarely have an actuall accident (unless I'm too slow in getting to the back door in time). Last night after bringing the dogs in from outside I caught Gizmo wizzing in the hallway. 

I cannot tell if he's having an accident or is marking his territory (he often tries to compete with my older dog for the alpha male spot in the pack) because he always squats to use the restroom. 

Now I take all the dogs outside to use the restroom every 1-2 hours (though kodi doesn't really need it I just take him outside because he freaks out if he can't see the puppies). I don't usually go outside with them to make sure they go because they try to play with me rather than do their business. 

Gizmo is a chihuahua/dashund mix and I hear that both breeds are sometimes hard to house break. Is there anything I can do to prevent more accidents/marking? Would a belly band help? 

I have a large kennel I put the dogs in when I can't watch them and they never urinate in that. Should I put the pups in there more often to reduce accidents? 

Help is needed DX


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## JuneBud (Feb 17, 2010)

If you don't stay outside with your puppies you have no way of knowing that they relieved themselves when outside. Your puppy could have been busy playing while outside. Also, if you don't go out with them and praise and treat them when they go out they may not learn they should always go outside. That said, your puppy may be beginning marking behavior. My own puppy started marking furiously when he was about 5 months old, inside and outside the house. He got neutered before he was 6 months old because of it. It took about 3 weeks after neutering for the marking to subside. Now he does not mark at all, even on walks.


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

Yes, they should be crated if you are not ACTIVELY watching them. Housetraining needs to be really close to errorless for it to actually work, and this responsibility is on the human, not the dog. Most marking is likely to be on vertical surfaces, rather than on the floor, so this may be something to take a look at..where are the spots that you are finding?
And yes, you need to go out with the pups separately and on lead to reinforce peeing outside. If the other dogs need to be kennelled while you take one out then do it. Your older dog needs to learn to be separate from the pups and vice versa to prevent serious anxiety occurring when/if anyone has to be hospitalized or have crate rest etc later on in life.
I also must impress on you the importance of figuring out which dog is having the accidents to ensure that it is not a physical issue, assuming it is one dog sets you all up to fail. 
Good luck.


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## Puptart (Jan 25, 2011)

Yeah for some reason at first it didn't occur to me to take them out seperately to make sure they'd do their buisiness DX Major fail on my part. I started doing that a couple of days after I posted this. On any note they're doing better I'm increasing the frequency in which I take them out and praise and give them treats when they go and let me know when they need to go. They recently chewed the zipper of their kennel so now I have to fix that its not too bad so it should be an easy fix. In the meantime we have an enclosed porch to put them em while i fix the kennel. Thanks for the advice.


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