marking issues, please help

[Mtng1rl]

I'm new to this forum, so please forgive me if this has beed asked/aswered before. My male Yorkie is a 1 1/2 and is nutered. He is still marking all over my house. I'm at my wits end and have given him 90 days to stop, or I will have to get rid of him. He has peed on everything he can lift his leg on, bookcases, movies, my bed, clothing, nightstands, you get the picture. I was told by a couple people Yorkies are notorious for house breaking issues. He is pad trained and crated when we are out (he even pees in the labardors crate next to his), so I think he gets out of bed at night & does this so I can't catch him in the act.
Any advise/suggestions would be appreciated. I would hate to have to get rid of him.
Thanks

[Lovetodream88]

Potty training issues are almost always the humans fault not the dog. Would you get rid of a human child who had potty issues. You can try a belly band for the meantime. But you need to bust him and tell him a firm no and not give him full run of the house. Praise him when he goes where you want. Go back to potty training basics.

[Rachael1983]

My suggestion is to 1. Have your house deep cleaned and sanitized to try and get you home at a ground zero level so the enzymes and smells that attract dogs to marking is reduced .

Then you need to get consistent as you’ve ever been . On a schedule crate training . Removing the pads, praise when they do well and firm claps and voice when they don’t. When the dog isn’t doing th intended behavior and say no m redirect and when the do it right praise.

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by Rachael1983

My suggestion is to 1. Have your house deep cleaned and sanitized to try and get you home at a ground zero level so the enzymes and smells that attract dogs to marking is reduced .

Then you need to get consistent as you’ve ever been . On a schedule crate training . Removing the pads, praise when they do well and firm claps and voice when they don’t. When the dog isn’t doing th intended behavior and say no m redirect and when the do it right praise.

Agreed!!! One thing that hasn't been mentioned is MARKING IS NOT A POTTY TRAINING ISSUE.

The need to mark territory is present in all dogs, male or female, neutered or not. It is more common in unaltered males. However, I had a roommate who had a chi-mix little girl that would mark EVERYTHING. When she ran out of pee, she started to leave a poop trail.
Another thing, it can take some time for all the hormones to leave your pups system. I want to say it's a few months, but don't quote me on it. It's been almost 10 years since I took in my first boy to be neutered. My new little guy doesn't get the big fix until November this year.

However, this behavior can be fixed, but you, OP, must be absolutely diligent. No free roaming at all until you fix this. AT ALL.

When you do let him roam, make it after a long walk where he is praised for marking outside. Use a belly band to protect your items. A belly band is not the solution, it is a training tool. If you are not stressing about your stuff being ruined, you will be more relaxed and more inclined to work with the pup. Also, allowing your pup to roam your house after a nice long walk, means there is more of a chance your pup will be running on empty, which will also help protect your items.

When he is roaming in your house, watch him like a hawk. I do mean this literally. Never be more than a step or two behind your pup. Every time you see him gain interest in something to try to mark, correct him. Every time he lifts his cute little leg, correct him. You must do this EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. in order to really get him to understand what it is you want from him.

If you haven't already done training classes with your pup, you may want to consider this as well. You love your pup, he loves you, but training builds a deeper bond and understanding between the two of you.

[sandy simpson]

I sympathize with all who have a yorkie that marks. My Jojo never marked. When he turned 7yrs he started to mark. Only when I leave so I put a belly band on. Him. I think he has
separation anxiety. I would never re home him. Belly band works. I hope you can train yours t

[Mtng1rl]

Well it's been a few weeks since I posted this. I am seeing improvement, so that's encouraging!

He has still marked, but not as much as before. I have cleaned everything with vinegar water and that seems to help. I have not had the carpet cleaned as no one services our area. I am going to rent a machine & clean myself as soon as the weather cooperates.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

[yorkietalkjilly]

My Yorkie was 9 mos. old, kennel-crazy, said to having spent those 9 mos. in a cage under a shelter alone in the backyard. So I feared he would become a hard-to-train dog having had no housebreaking training at all, getting used to going in his own quarters. Every mistake he had in the house was cleaned with the biocleaner that biologically removes all traces of urine or feces so he got the idea any attempt to mark his territory was useless as the odors were immediately removed. The rest of his housebreaking consisted of a regular schedule ensuring him that he was going to have ample chances to go outside, where it is natural for a dog to eliminate.

I simply took him outside every 30 minutes when I was home for a good 2 - 3 months, really making his peeing/pooping outside seem like a great big win for him by clapping, smiling, praising & treating him after every "go". He soon realized that he was being taken out so often he was always too empty to go in the house and once he knew he could count on being taken outside, he worked to hold his eliminations for the soon-to-come 30 min. trip outside, the happy win when he "went" and the treat. Came to look forward to going outside.

I also confined him to whatever room I was in and watched him like a hawk just in case he felt the need to go inside, rushing him outside when he began the purposeful sniffing, intense interest in the floor and circling behavior that indicated he needed to pee/poop. He had very few accidents after that as he began to enjoy those outside trips, the big win, the happy rewards of "going" outside. After 3 mos., I stretched out his trips outside to every 40 minutes and slowly worked up to every hour, then every two, then three, four. He slept in the bed with me at nights, at first in his hard-case airline carrier, and only soiled it once the first week I let him sleep in the bed out of the carrier.

I confined him to his cage crate every time I left the house and immediately took him out just before leaving and immediately after returning home. Kept that up until he was 18 mos. or so, when he was finally allowed to roam freely throughout the house, but always checking on him if he left the room and stayed over 2 - 3 mins., which I gradually increased as he showed he was reliable. By age 24 months, he was totally clean in the house and I was fairly well exhausted and SO glad that intense training was finally done! It was so worth it, though, and I'll always be glad for the intensive housebreaking training invested as he's paid rewards ever since. A reliable, frequent schedule the dog could count on and obsessive observation when inside were the keys to his training.