# Dog Doesn't Mark His Territory



## memphis44 (Sep 17, 2011)

Hello, 
I have a 8 month puppy that does not mark his territory on trees, mail boxes, etc...is this because he is too young still and will when he gets older or is he just a dog that doesn't do that??? He likes sniffing where dogs have peed but doesn't mark it...

Just curious...thanks


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

memphis44 said:


> Hello,
> I have a 8 month puppy that does not mark his territory on trees, mail boxes, etc...is this because he is too young still and will when he gets older or is he just a dog that doesn't do that??? He likes sniffing where dogs have peed but doesn't mark it...
> 
> Just curious...thanks


It's probably his age. I think marking behavior is hormonally influenced. Not all male dogs are going to lift their legs to pee, though (and conversely a relative of mine's female maltese lifts her leg, lol) so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Actually, I would love a male dog that didn't try to mark mailboxes and things.


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## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

It can depend on when he was fixed and how much exposure he has to other male dogs. 

I believe that the average male dog lifts his leg around 10 mos. Many do it much earlier. My dog didn't mark until he was 3 yrs, and he was fixed at 6 mos. Even today, he still squats to pee, but lifts his leg to mark.


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## firehawk (Jul 31, 2011)

kafkabeetle said:


> Actually, I would love a male dog that didn't try to mark mailboxes and things.


I used to imagine a dialogue in my pit/ridge's head that went something like, "THIS bush is MINE. Ooh, and this tree, and this rock is cool, and yep, I need this fence, and wow, check out this cool mailbox, it's mine now, and YaY a bench, oh sweet, another bush for me, and OMG roses. I love roses." Near the end of our walk, he was literally putting out 3 drops at a time. I thought for sure he'd wear his hips out.


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## KodiBarracuda (Jul 4, 2011)

Its probably an age thing like kafkabeetle said. Kodi didn't mark until he hit one year old. Roonie never marks now except for the occasional stinky weed. Lady (my female if you couldn't tell) is TERRIBLE for marking. When we did classes, I couldn't go one class without cleaning urine. She just had to mark things. The only thing that could stop her was a very firm "No" each and every time she put her nose to the ground (because that was the cue she gave me when she was going to mark).


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