How do I help prevent marking???

[TaylorWoods]

My little male is now 9 months old and is as randy and hormonal as he could ever be! Which I completely understand seeing as I have not yet had him neutered and my female is intact. This is for a few reasons. Firstly it was a conscience issue (my fiance tells me Im taking away his "manhood") and secondly I bought him specifically to breed with.

My breeding is a decision I have not yet settled on - I am fighting the emotional fight between putting my dam at risk or not because her safety comes first always. So in the meantime I have not had him neutered and I have left him to grow and develop into an unfixed male.

I have no issue with him marking outside but lately he has started to do it inside. I know it is a manageable problem and I have found a few ideas online to help as well as putting a belly band on him at times (which he HATES!) To be honest he doesnt just mark everywhere, he specifically chooses my fiance's things! Is this an insecurity issue?

He pee'd on his brand new Chrsitmas pants which needed to be returned and has pee'd on his side on the bed ONLY about 5 times this last week. He also sneaks into the spare room and marks on the clean washing which just so happens to be my fiance's only! Deep down i find it a little amusing that it is never my things but I havent mentioned to him that he only marks on his things because he would be very unhappy! He is already a bit put out by my love for my male dog! ha ha! Apparently I love the dog more than him!

Additionally, my female is due for her heat any day now so he follows her around 24/7 and will pee minimum 3 times and more over her puddle if she has been. Luckily she only pee's outside!

I have started to close the bedroom doors but occasionally we forget and he will sneak in and pee on my fiance's things! addionally Im trying out the belly band idea and have read online about making a shaker bottle to disturb him if I see him sniffing around as if to mark.

He is a slightly insecure little chap as it is and is a real softy at heart so I dont ever shout or scare him but I try to be as firm with him as possible. But yesterday he had pee'd TWICE on my fiance's side of the bed. I hadnt raised my voice even slightly! He had come running in, jumped on the bed, seen his mess and knew he would be caught out and rolled over and wet himself! So I was left with THREE stains and really think a new duvet is needed.

When it comes to strutting his stuff he is very confidant around the female. I believe in letting him be normal and marking is normal, but I just want him to learn that marking in the house is wrong. He never lifts his leg against a wall or chair etc, only on my fiance's things. Is it because he senses my fiance is a male and is trying to prove his dominance?

[2Morkies]

Neutering is the only way to prevent marking.

You need to be prepared for the reponses you will get after this thread. Many will not hold back on how they feel about not "fixing" your pups. Also, There are many passionate breeders who put a lot into it and get upset by people who just "try" for the fun of it without knowing anything about breeding.

Please don't get offended if mean things are said. I honestly think you shoud have your pups "fixed" though.

[brendarash]

I as well have a male, That happens to be fixed that still marks. I always us a belly band on him. Your little guy is marking because of your female. Please do your little girl a big favor, get them both fixed. As far as your little guys man hood, Trust me, He will be so much happier Healtier and calmer if you get him fixed. If he does not like the belly band, it only takes a day or so and he will not even notice it. I just say to my Romie, come her let me put your pants on. He walks right over to me. I have had many fosters that were intact as well, I put a belly band on them,they may walk funny at first but will be fine in no time. Good luck.

[TaylorWoods]

No worries, Im aware of how passionate people on this forum get and I generally appreciate the comments even if they come across as harsh because I know they mean well. In the long term I only want what is best for them both.

That being said, I have been and still am mentored by the breeder who I got my dogs from as well as doing very thorough research of my own so I am trying my best to do things the right way. Thus the reason I ask for additional external advice because if need be I would rather have them both fixed than cause them any discomfort in the years to come. I trust my breeder but a second or third opinion never hurt anyone! My dogs have both been for health tests and will be going in again for a check up at the end of this month. It has taken me 4 years to get to this point and I have only owned my dogs in the past 2 years because I took the time to learn before jumping in head first, even just to be a pet owner. If that makes sense!

But I've always owned female dogs, so some of the male habits are new to me! I owned one male Jack Russell that I had fixed asap because of his behaviour and he only started to mark AFTER being fixed and still roamed all his life. My real question is, if I had him fixed would it help after he has already started to mark? Or is it ingrained into him now regardless? Or would it only help it they were BOTH fixed? I know it is still possible for a neutered male to tie with a female and I know it is very dangerous to them both.

In the meantime I will keep trying the belly band, he generally loves his jersey and begs to have it put on if he sees it so im sure he will adjust to the band as well.

[FlDebra]

I know of no way to stop his marking, except physical barriers like belly bands in this situation. A female coming in heat is going to have him so charged up you will not know him in a few days time. It is going to get crazy! I highly recommend neutering him immediately and spaying the female too if she is not in heat yet. Once in heat, spaying is more dangerous.

If the very light dog in your avatar & albums is the dog you are planning on breeding, I would not do it. Besides being healthy, you also want dogs that are as close to breed standard as possible. You want to go down through the standards and see that the dogs you plan to breed meet them. Because we all see our own dogs with love in our eyes, it is better to get two non-biased experienced breeders to look them over. Best if you can get show breeders as they are used to the judges going over their dogs very critically and are experienced in what to look for. It is probably also best not to use the breeder that bred your dogs to critique them. They too will have a loving eye that sees them a little better than they might be. I know that mine look perfect to me. I had to spay my first girl. I had thought I would breed her too -- she was after all such a cute puppy! But once I started investigating what it took to show a Yorkie -- I realized I had a wavy-haired pet only. So, I spayed her and loved her anyway! She was a sweetheart and worth millions in my heart.

If you are not going to breed the dogs, you are going to have a challenging time ahead with this heat. I could not believe how persistent and determined my sweet little Ben would become in the most potent week of heat. He would do a lot of sniffing and panting during the whole 3 weeks but the one week -- he would be possessed! Best if you can even get a family member to take your male for that worst week at least. If not, then you will have to make sure they are kept physically apart at all times. Even if you are right there -- they are QUICK! I used a doggy diaper and a onesie on my female except when I took her out to potty. I could never take them out together, always one at a time. Be very careful or you will wind up with an oops breeding.

There is so much to consider before breeding two dogs. Much more discretion is needed than many put into it. Any two dogs will breed and make you puppies but breeding should be done with a goal in mind -- a goal to always improve and start a line as close to standard as possible, to produce the best example of the breed possible. When you pick a potential dam and sire for a breeding, you should consider all of the genetic ramifications. Of course you want to make sure you are not passing along any genetic health issues -- are both of them free of any joint problems? Have their knees, hips, and spine been checked? Eyes? Heart? Both checked for STDs? Brucellosis is one of the scariest ones that you definitely need to test for. They should already be BAT tested, but may need another if they did not have one at 6 months. After health checks, I would evaluate their temperament. You do not want to breed a dog that has been surly, overly aggressive, or too reserved either. Only a confident, intelligent and loving dog should be further considered. Then you want to take a look at their structure -- how is the topline? Check shoulder, head carriage, tail carriage, ear set (pointy & erect), size of ears, length of legs, squareness of body. Then check the color, both correct color and color placement are important -- look for the richness of color -- a dark steel blue and rich tan on a silky coat that hangs straight. Watch them in motion -- you want to see a fluidness in movement. Ensure no sidewinders for example. Look at their eyes -- they should not protrude, nicely spaced, dark. You want a slightly flat head (no apple-heads!). Nice straight front legs, back legs straight from behind but stifles slightly bent. SO MANY things to evaluate before you decide if your dog is really breeding quality. I am sure you would come up with more if you get a copy of the standard and go item by item. Be critical -- make sure you are contributing to ethical breeding practices and not diluting the Yorkie gene pool with non-standard traits and poor quality. Even if all is considered and good choices made, years of study endeavored to make sure you are ready for the whelping, tests run, supplies readied, xrays taken, all considerations checked off.......even then......you can loose your girl and/or puppies. It is such a heart-breaking experience to lose a girl to breeding. To know her death is absolutely your fault. I am still bearing that guilt and it stopped my breeding for now.

I took a lot of words to basically say -- if you are going to breed, please do it right. Best to you and those cute pups of yours!

[TaylorWoods]

Thanks so much for that Im going to really consider it because you are really right...they are all perfect in our eyes I have been worried about her colouring to be honest. only lately did she lighten up her coat is very short though and she is a little darker when it grows but i wont try and justify it because her colour is NOT perfect. I know that

It's just such a hard decision for me. Breeding aside, i hear so many opinions on whether to spay and neuter or not. some say it's healthier with regards to ovarian and testicular cancer etc and other say you shouldnt mess with their bodies and they should stay in tact because it's healthier. In our family all our animals were done early on except my mother's breeding burmese cats. We had a Border Collie however who was spayed and got major infections and had to be anethetised and opened up and scraped out twice after that. in the long term she suffered terribly with bladder infections and couldnt hold her bladder and the vets said it was from spaying her.

I might have to ride this heat out if I do decide to spay and neuter because it is immenent My little male can always go to my parents house, but I do have the means to separate them at home too and have used diapers on her in the past.

I appreciate the unbiased advice it has given me a lot to think about. at the moment im weighing up the pro's and cons and im seeing more cons so im going to give it some careful thought and consider the spay and neuter option for both their sakes.

In the long run she is my baby, my first Yorkie love and I have always been worried about putting her in danger. This has given me much to think about and a good reason to keep her safe

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by TaylorWoods

Thanks so much for that Im going to really consider it because you are really right...they are all perfect in our eyes I have been worried about her colouring to be honest. only lately did she lighten up her coat is very short though and she is a little darker when it grows but i wont try and justify it because her colour is NOT perfect. I know that

It's just such a hard decision for me. Breeding aside, i hear so many opinions on whether to spay and neuter or not. some say it's healthier with regards to ovarian and testicular cancer etc and other say you shouldnt mess with their bodies and they should stay in tact because it's healthier. In our family all our animals were done early on except my mother's breeding burmese cats. We had a Border Collie however who was spayed and got major infections and had to be anethetised and opened up and scraped out twice after that. in the long term she suffered terribly with bladder infections and couldnt hold her bladder and the vets said it was from spaying her.

I might have to ride this heat out if I do decide to spay and neuter because it is immenent My little male can always go to my parents house, but I do have the means to separate them at home too and have used diapers on her in the past.

I appreciate the unbiased advice it has given me a lot to think about. at the moment im weighing up the pro's and cons and im seeing more cons so im going to give it some careful thought and consider the spay and neuter option for both their sakes.

In the long run she is my baby, my first Yorkie love and I have always been worried about putting her in danger. This has given me much to think about and a good reason to keep her safe

That's good that you are seriously considering all options. I thought I would throw this out there just as an FYI. Personalities are inherited, and it sounds like your male is on the shy side, maybe even a frightful little dog? (feel free to correct me on that) I don't know why my little boy is very shy. I've seen the rolling over and wetting himself part, he's done that in the past like your pup. That comes from extreme nervousness. If you see how my boy acts, you would think he was abused (he really is just that scared of things). I highly doubt that is the case, but if I bred him, he would have some neurotic babies just like him. Hes a very loving little man, just not breeding worthy in my opinion.

The marking in my opinion can definitely be stopped, even in stubborn little boys. Kaji was so "good" at marking everything. After neutering and some training, I don't worry about him marking in the house at all. No more belly bands either. (just when we're visiting a new house he's never been too) He has dribbled pee, but it was like in your case where he get so nervous or anxious he wets himself. That is an entirely different problem though.

[TaylorWoods]

I wouldnt say he is shy - he is actually a confidant little dog in general. I would call him more "soft" than shy. he tends to be "shy" with my fiance at times, i dont know why because he has never done anything to scare him. Maybe the word "submissive" is a good one. (although pees on his stuff! ha ha) but not all the time. if we have visitors or he meets other dogs and pets he is anything but shy. he is a very social little man.

Their characters are very different though. My female loves to hunt, chase lizzards and run around and play rough. He also does but prefers to follow her lead.

Im definitely up to considering all options though, if i lost my female i would never forgive myself just like FlDebra said.

[bchgirl]

Once they start marking it is difficult if not impossible to stop. Neutering may or may not succeed especially with an unaltered female in the house.

There are a gambit of health issues in unaltered dogs. Females are prone to mammery cancer and pyrometra. Pyrometra is often times fatal.