Help, I have a marking problem...or is it a potty problem?

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Teresiana

I'm pretty sure I enough enough pads out. I usually pick them up once a day. Maybe I'll change them out more often & see if that works.

I wasn't sure if Yoshi would get confused if I let him mark outside, but not inside. But if yours can do that, the I don't see why Yoshi wouldn't be able to. I'm also going to reclean the carpets upstairs. I've been wanting to pull them out, but I'm waiting for spring so I can open the windows. We actually only have a few bedrooms with carpet. Maybe I'll just close the doors to those rooms until I know they're totally clean. I could probably dump a whole bottle of Nature's Miracle in that spot where the floor & the wall meet...and it still wouldn't be totally clean. The rest of the house is hardwood. Thank goodness.

Thanks so much for all of the advice. I think I just got really comfortable with the whole potty thing & need to make an effort to be a little more on top of it. Now that I've been watching them & restricting their freedom, I haven't seen Yoshi marking. That's encouraging. I'll take it day by day & keep my fingers crossed!

Yeah, my house is similar with the bedrooms being carpet. I really think it's harder for them to learn with carpet, it was so easy to train them on the hardwood. I personally think it's harder when you have more than one dog and in my case I have several male dogs that visit weekly, and I think they all want to claim my house. I never hard any marking problems when I just had one dog and no dog visitors.

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by Teresiana

I'm pretty sure I enough enough pads out. I usually pick them up once a day. Maybe I'll change them out more often & see if that works.

I wasn't sure if Yoshi would get confused if I let him mark outside, but not inside. But if yours can do that, the I don't see why Yoshi wouldn't be able to. I'm also going to reclean the carpets upstairs. I've been wanting to pull them out, but I'm waiting for spring so I can open the windows. We actually only have a few bedrooms with carpet. Maybe I'll just close the doors to those rooms until I know they're totally clean. I could probably dump a whole bottle of Nature's Miracle in that spot where the floor & the wall meet...and it still wouldn't be totally clean. The rest of the house is hardwood. Thank goodness.

Thanks so much for all of the advice. I think I just got really comfortable with the whole potty thing & need to make an effort to be a little more on top of it. Now that I've been watching them & restricting their freedom, I haven't seen Yoshi marking. That's encouraging. I'll take it day by day & keep my fingers crossed!

They don't get confused. It's the same with pottying, your praise for the right spot and correct the bad behavior. Belly bands don't stop the problem either. It's more like a training aid. You let him have free roam when you can watch him 100% of the time. As soon as he lifts his leg in the wrong spot, you correct. What the belly band does in this instance is help you deter the reward your boy gets from marking. He can't claim that spot if it doesn't smell like him. That's his reward, claiming that spot is his. By you not allowing the marking inside, your telling him YOUR marking your home as yours as it will have the scents you want your home to have. Walking, especially new routes, always seem to be a treat to marking dogs (both male and female). He gets to say "I've been here... and here... And over here too... Oh! Can't forget the fire hydrant!" At least that's been my experience. He loves going outside to mark and walk, but knows my house is mine to claim.

[Teresiana]

That's a great idea to take him on a walk on an unfamiliar route. I never thought of that. I'll try that as soon as the layer of ice on top of last night's snowfall melts...Grrr...I'm DONE with snow already! This behavior also started when the weather was colder. I walk them less in the winter. So maybe he's missing his outdoor marking opportunities.

I also noticed that he didn't start marking until we introduced another pup to the household. I didn't realize that marking would be something I should watch out for when we added a pup. We have another puppy coming in June. So I'll definitely make sure to be on top of it this time.

I was considering belly bands & I put one on him for about an hour...I felt so bad for him because he was walking on 3 legs & in a permanent leg lift position!!! I had to take it off because I could not stop laughing. Poor baby! But yeah, I understand that I need to be on top of his marking behavior & that the band will still allow him to "mark" & make me lazy about keeping up with him.

Wonderful advice. Thanks so much. I just wasn't sure exactly how to approach the issue - marking vs. potty training - and from what I can tell, it's a combination of both. Now I have a better understanding of WHY he is marking. That really helps me with correcting the behavior. Thanks so much!

[DvlshAngel985]

Ahh!! The "AH HA!" moment. If this started when you got the new pup, he's letting her (him?) know this house is mine. Be grateful he hasn't tried to mark you. Mine did that once in the park because I was petting another dog. What a stinker!!!

[Teresiana]

Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985

Ahh!! The "AH HA!" moment. If this started when you got the new pup, he's letting her (him?) know this house is mine. Be grateful he hasn't tried to mark you. Mine did that once in the park because I was petting another dog. What a stinker!!!

YES! I am extremely grateful that has not happened. At least now I know to watch out for that too! Yuck!

[Teresiana]

I just wanted to update my progress with Yoshi's marking problem. He's stopped marking in the house! Yay! Since my last post, I started correcting him when I saw him lift his leg inside the house. I also scrubbed everything down & purchased some plywood boards from Home Depot. I covered the boards with disposable potty pads & leaned them up against the baseboards where I knew he liked to mark. I started praising him for marking when we were OUTSIDE. Incredibly, the pad wrapped plywood has remained dry! However, I did all of that at the same time winter started turning to spring. Since the weather has been warmer, we've been outside a lot more. I'm thinking that Yoshi was sick of being stuck inside the house all winter long & that may have had a lot to do with his marking. Or maybe it's a combination of both. I do see him marking a lot on walks & when we play in the backyard. I also change our walk route a few times a week so he has the opportunity to smell new smells.

Here's the weird thing...now my GIRL has started marking She only marks outside during walks, not in the backyard during play time & not inside. Is she just copying her big brother? Or do girls really mark? So bizarre! After she does it, Yoshi marks right on top of her mark!

Anyway, thanks for all of your advice! I'm really relieved I didn't have to resort to re-crate training. That would have been tough on me, emotionally. And when winter comes back, I'll make it a priority to let him have his outdoor time

[RachelandSadie]

Girls defin. do mark. Sadie marks on walks but luckily not in the house and yes Bentley will mark over her marks sometimes too. it's a mad house when we go on walks with both of them stopping to mark things the whole time...i'm having issues with inside marking esp with my little boy's toys and things and it's making me a very mad mama.

[aileenation]

yea i got a same pron..
but mine is the female one. my male is just okay..
is it too late to pottytrain a dog ? coz she's already 1.5 yo.thankssss

[dawn27]

So glad that your pup is doing much better and that you found ways to stop his marking issues. But, some times a good ol fashion time out in a cage can help get your point of no pottying in the house work too.

Yes females will also mark and of course your male has to let all the neighborhood dogs know that that is his B*tch by marking her urine too. It gets worse when the female is in heat. All my pups male & female will mark the one females urine that is in heat.


It's not learned behavior is just typical canine behavior !

[Teresiana]

Well it's good to know that I'm not the only one who has a girl marking. Thanks for the info about that. My little girl is spayed, so thankfully I don't have to worry about heat issues & unwanted pregnancies as well. Miss Momo is my first girl. So I'm still getting used to "girl behavior".

I'm actually extremely surprised that I was able to fix this problem without the use of a crate. In fact, it only took one week! That's why I'm thinking that the extra outdoor time had a lot to do it.

I have a new baby girl coming home next month. I'm def going to keep my eyes open for any type of territorial behavior (and anything else that may happen to come up). I have additional expens & crates ready...just in case.

Thanks again for the advice & suggestions

[dawn27]

You are welcome, but it sound like you've got everything under control. Keep doing what your doing especially if It Work !!

Be sure to share pics of your little girl when she comes home.

[Teresiana]

Originally Posted by dawn27

You are welcome, but it sound like you've got everything under control. Keep doing what your doing especially if It Work !!

Be sure to share pics of your little girl when she comes home.

I'll def share pictures!!! My little Prima isn't even home yet & she already has her own thread
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/my-...ing-prima.html