# 8 month old male marking inside - how to stop?



## voodookitten (Nov 25, 2012)

Memphy is approx 8-9 months and intact.
He has started marking - all the time  He has started marking inside which is a big no no obviously.
We have 2 dogs (including him) and 6 cats - all inside/outside.

I love my dog but also love my furniture and house as well. 

What have others done when this happens? 

As a side note, he is toilet trained, he pees squatting but lifts his leg to mark. Also I am looking at getting him desexed at some stage soon - would this help?


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## PaddiB (Aug 8, 2014)

voodookitten said:


> As a side note, he is toilet trained, he pees squatting but lifts his leg to mark. Also I am looking at getting him desexed at some stage soon - would this help?


um, yeah, no....he isn't totally toilet trained. I've dealt with the young intact boys...and I don't buy the differentiation between marking and peeing in the house. The DOG may think it differently ONCE....but once caught, he gets treated like he ISN'T housebroken, and because he isn't a little puppy...a little extra wrath is brought upon him. And yes, the poor beast may act contrite and "put upon" but they don't know what they don't know. And I TELL them in no uncertain terms their little hormone behavior isn't appropriate indoors. It has NEVER been a big deal...it is almost like they say..."soooorrry...didn't know." 

I've always been amazed at my dog show friends who "warn" me about males coming into my house because they'll "mark" my house. And I tell them if their dog isn't fully house-trained, they can't come in. My dogs don't "foul" other people's houses, because they simply know peeing indoors ANYWHERE is wrong.


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## voodookitten (Nov 25, 2012)

Thanks PaddiB - not sure where you were going with that though advice wise?...glad your dogs dont 'foul' other peoples houses though, thanks for letting me know 

I had considered the toilet training possibility but wondering why he was perfectly trained (one of those dogs who picked it up super quick) and then has regressed to start lifting his leg - sexual maturity or at least starting to become mature sexually? Hence why I asked in my original post if desexing may help. Not fix.....help.


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## BKaymuttleycrew (Feb 2, 2015)

Neutering might help reduce the urge to mark, but there's no guarantee. You simply need to treat this like a house breaking issue & go back to 'potty training 101'. Crate when you can't supervise, tether him to you when you are home so you can direct his movements in the house, keeping him away from those oh-so-tempting vertical surfaces & *immediately* interrupt ("Ah-ah! Outside!!") & whisk him outdoors if he looks like he is even thinking of starting to lift. A belly band can be helpful to contain the messes while you're working on training, if he's ultra fast with the leg hike.

When you do take him out for a potty break, remember to give him time/opportunity to urinate more than once, since you don't want him coming back inside with 'reserves' at the ready. 

Also, make sure to go over any places where accidents have occurred & clean them with a really good enzymatic cleaner.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I do think marking is a potty training issue. Some boys seem to think that marking is different than regular peeing and they start doing it indoors, but if you go back to potty training 101 he will get it. You just need to show him that marking indoors is not any more acceptable than peeing indoors, and doing it outside is appropriate. Don't let him out of your sight, taking him out constantly, etc.

And you can always use a belly band for times when you can't closely supervise.


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## Hector4 (Sep 16, 2013)

I have a neutered rescue that's an intense marker and then I have an intact male that was an intense marker also, but mostly stopped after his neuter. So, no - fixing the dog will not guarantee anything. Best thing to do is to keep him tethered to you at all times. That way he cannot have the opportunity to mark without you catching him and promptly correcting and moving him outside.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Ultimately, although the reason why a dog marks vs. urinates to empty their bladder are different, marking is a house training issue. Some dogs as they socially mature start to experiment with marking even when they were well house trained before, so that may be why you're seeing it now.

Do some remedial house training. Do exactly what you did when he was a puppy - supervision, rewarding urinating outside, management when you can't supervise him. Squash experimented with marking little bit around that age, not at home but at our training club. We were in a for-fun agility class at the time so things like tethering weren't really an option, he was working off leash. So in addition to remedial house training I used a belly band when we were there, he didn't like the feeling of his pee pants so it was a combination of management and an aversive.

Neutering might help or it might not. If I wasn't otherwise planning to neuter, I wouldn't neuter just for this reason. But if I was planning to neuter anyway at some point, I might go ahead and do it now.


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## voodookitten (Nov 25, 2012)

Awesome - thankyou everyone  Going to have to go back to basics by the look of things. Ugh lol. Yes, we were planning on desexing him soon anyway but was really hoping to wait until 12 months so will go back to 101 toilet training first.
Will also have a look into belly bands - can anyone suggest a good brand? That will ship to Aus?


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## PaddiB (Aug 8, 2014)

voodookitten, look, I'm glad others have supported me regarding my first reply to you. It is the state of mind of the owner, not the dog. I answered as I did because I actually don't think neutering has anything to do with it. I know neutered dogs who inappropriately "mark" indoors, and I know well-established stud dogs who never even think of lifting their leg indoors (outdoors is another thing). 

Sorry that I don't know you, and I read your reference to "desexing" as opposed to neutering, so I figured you weren't from the States. So, who knows what you are used to. I raised a pup for a friend in Australia that was bred in South Africa. I raised him because a dog/puppy going from Africa going to Australia would have to spend six months or more in quarantine. The US doesn't have that. So I agreed to have a 9 week old pup shipped to me in the US, raise him, get the required vaccines and titers done, so that at the appropriate time, when I sent him to Australia, he would only have to spend 30 days in quarantine (the least amount of time available). 

So this 9 week old male puppy I get is perfectly wonderful, except that by 12 weeks he is lifting his leg to pee outside. I've NEVER personally seen a puppy lift his leg at such a young age...the boys I've raised are still squatting to pee at 6-9 months of age...and some don't "get it" unless they actually see another male lift. His housebreaking was super-fast, too...a wonderful boy. Until, when he was about 8 months of age, my mother came to visit, and I settled her in, this dog went into her room and lifted his leg on the bed. 

So yes...you can say this "boy dog" was rattled by a new-comer and was "marking his territory" even though he hadn't peed in the house ever before (perfectly "house-broken"). You can either get all flustered and "forgive" his transgression as "marking" or you can bring a very temporary wrath and then treat him again like a 'PRE-HOUSEBROKEN dog and let him know what is acceptable and what is not. And yes, it is a pain, and you have to go back watching him for a bit...blah blah...but that is what a responsible person does...and which is WHY I'm still confounded that actual experienced dog people still make excuses for the whole "marking" thing.

I don't think you or anybody needs a belly band...I'm sorry, that is simply an excuse for not being aware and willing to address the issue.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

> I don't think you or anybody needs a belly band...I'm sorry, that is simply an excuse for not being aware and willing to address the issue.


If someone just put the belly band on the dog and ignored the problem, yes. But it can really reduce stress, frustration, and home odor while you're working on training. As long as the owner is actually working on training .


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## voodookitten (Nov 25, 2012)

All good, I didn't end out getting any further than reading about the belly band, we just went back to toilet training as per my above post, I was curious about them but no, not for me - I would spend more time chuckling at Memphy actually wearing one and no training would get done lol. 

They sound like Willowy mentioned, a great tool as long as consistent training was going on but hes not at a stage where he would need one I don't believe.* He has only marked once since my original post woohoo! - Its only a new thing so we can nip it in the bud with toilet training 101 easily  *

We purchased 2 large crates as both dogs have outgrown their last ones and are going back to basics  they are both crate trained so happy days ahead.


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

Neutering won't change marking ... I have two neutered males here (and a spayed female!) Who will mark, but none of them mark indoors. My intact male is learning to generalize indoor areas like the training place, the barn in Dallas etc ... as places that are no nos for marking. When he starts smelling "that special way " I interrupt him and give him his "that's wrong" sound of "eh eh". If there are intact females around he needs a few reminders, but he gets it pretty quickly.


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## SirviRavenWind (Dec 1, 2014)

voodookitten said:


> All good, I didn't end out getting any further than reading about the belly band, we just went back to toilet training as per my above post, I was curious about them but no, not for me - I would spend more time chuckling at Memphy actually wearing one and no training would get done lol.
> 
> They sound like Willowy mentioned, a great tool as long as consistent training was going on but hes not at a stage where he would need one I don't believe.* He has only marked once since my original post woohoo! - Its only a new thing so we can nip it in the bud with toilet training 101 easily  *
> 
> ...


 I have personally used bellybands for my males-- if used right that are a good aid. What Willowy said is true it is not a put on the dog and forget that does not do any good. It is to keep them from being able to make mistakes while housetraining. My last male used one and since 6 months has not had an accident since. Not only are they useful to prevent accidents it also give you a way to teach calm behavior-since they have to wait a few seconds for you to take it off when outside. 

I also use the female ones for my girl since she had to learn to accept wearing it to keep my house as clean as possible.


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