[Sway Says]

Oh you're scaring me! My Harley is 8 months and he only marks outdoors. I hope that in another 2 months I won't have to launch him to the moon.

But there is a solution to the marking problem. Confinement. This isn't incarceration, it's just confinement. When there's no way for you to enforce the no marking rules you need to use "creative avoidance" so that he won't regress and forget or disregard your teachings.

So when you're not home you need to keep him in his crate. If he urinates in his crate then he should be disciplined for doing so (but you should clean his crate immediately so that he isn't tempted to do it again). Also make sure that if it's a wire crate it's covered so that the urine won't escape. He may just lift his leg and pee outside the crate and miss the whole crate lesson.

What's the lesson? He needs to learn that if he urinates in it he will have to marinate in it. Your dog doesn't like to lay in his pee any more than you do.

When you are home keep him leashed and tied to your belt like an umbilical chord or keep your eye on him 24/7. I find it easier to tie him to something or put his leash in my belt loop. This helps you catch him in the act and promptly correct him. If he knows that he won't get away with it he'll do it less and less.

Also while you're in the house put a "tab leash" on him. If your dog runs from you when he knows he's in trouble this short one foot leash will make it easier for you to catch him. A dog that knows he will be caught and that you're going to follow through with discipline won't run from you. Running after your dog after he's done wrong is not very alpha and your dog knows it. The tab leash makes him easier to keep up with.

To interrupt his leg lifting the belly bands are a great idea. I wrap a bandana around Harley's waist twice if I fear he'll make a mistake at a friend's house. Also when he lifts his leg you can correct him interrupting his action with a shake can (a plastic bottle full of coins). It scares the bejesus out of them. He'll associate bat-crap-insane noise with peeing in the house.

After your baby gets better with not marking you can take off the leash and keep the tab leash on for a little longer. Once you feel that you've gone three weeks without problems then he may be rehabilitated.

What's important is that you clean up all pee. Marking pee smells different than regular pee and your dog will often mark the same spot he's marked before. It's like a compulsion, they have to keep it fresh. So your job is to completely clean up the areas he's fouled with enzyme cleaner that'll take the smell away. Don't use ammonia cleaners like bleach or oxy-clean. Ammonia is a compound in their urine and will encourage them to mark there again.

But even though all this seems like negativeness there's some really great news!!!

You're moving. And that means a clean slate. There are no areas that your dog has called his own. And you need to let him know that the entire house is YOUR territory, not his. The only terroritory that belongs to him is his crate. If he can't behave in YOUR territory, he should know that he will be confined to his crate until he can respect your rules.

So yeah, this sounds a little hard nosed--but it works.

And I'm sure you'd rather be tough on your pup for a little while than to have to live a lifetime in Urineland.

I hoped this helped. GOOD LUCK!