Adding a 2nd Male--Will he lift his leg?
 

My little boy Dreamer is a little over 2 years old...he is my only male baby. He was neutered later--it was just done this summer right before his 2nd birthday. He used to mark a lot, but after he was neutered he stopped. He has not marked one time in the last several months. He does, however, lift his leg to pee. MOST of the time it's on the peepad, but not always. I realize this is never going to change, and this is my fault for not neutering him earlier. That's ok, he is my baby no matter what and I do not have a big issue with this, as he is the only male I have and the only dog I have who does it. ;)

I am adding a new little Yorkie boy to the furry family this weekend, Remington "Remi", he is just a puppy now. I will be having him neutered ASAP--whenever my vet clears it. Hopefully by 4-5 months...6 at the latest.

I have asked several people their thoughts on this--most have said that because I will be neutering Remi early, he should never mark or lift his leg, even though Dreamer does do it when he pees. Yesterday I had a vet appointment for one of my girls and I talked to the vet about it, who said that he probably WOULD lift his leg to pee too, just copying Dreamer...even though Remi will be neutered young.

I don't really have a HUGE problem with Remi lifting his leg to pee, although though I don't love it, ha. I just hate using the belly bands. I don't make Dreamer wear one, but if I had 2 that lifted their leg I might have to start putting them on both. Of course my preference would be that Remi never does it to begin with...

So my question is that--has anyone else added a male puppy (who you planned to neuter early) when you had an older male who did mark or lift his leg to pee? Did that puppy copy the behavior of the older male?

Hope this makes sense:rolleyes:. I am not going to change my mind about adding Remi to the family either way, but I just wondered what I might expect or if anyone has any thoughts on the situation.

I know a lot of us have FEMALES that lift their legs. So it is 50 / 50 he might he might not. Leg lifting is not always a learned behavior.

My girls do not, thank goodness ;) But I have had girls in the past that did it. That's kind of what I was thinking--50/50. :animal36

My ZoE does this! Not lifts way high...her leg just hovers about an inch or two off the pad. I think it helps her not to pee on herself, or step in it, so I'm fine with it :)

Well now, I don't consider that major lifting...DeDe does this too...45 degree angle to squat :D lol. I have, however, had a girl before that fully lifted her leg all the way up and peed on the walls, just like a male! :rolleyes::eek:

I'd say Levi squats like a lady 80% of the time, does the half-lift 10% of the time, and total-lifts 10% of the time. He was in his first year of life -- not exactly sure how old, as I did not have him at the time.

He mostly does the total lift if he sees another pup doing it (copycat), or if he is outside and marking something especially wonderful. At parks and outside pet stores, he LOVES to lift his leg. If he is just trying to do his business, he squats. :)

Couver lifts his leg no matter what and he was neutered at 6 months. Sometimes he lifts it and pees on the grass and other times he lifts it completely up to pee on something like a tree. He however does not mark in the house, so I have NO problem with him lifting his leg.

He may not. I would have him neutered as early as possible though

My male was also neutered at 2.... He has not marked since the neuter, and dis quite often before... Our youngest male (now 8 mths) has NEVER marked... He does however lift his leg to pee on his potty pad... (he was neutered about a month ago). Just depends on the pup I guess!!

Jackson is the same! LOL. He was fixed at 7 1/2 months old.

We dogsit a pup every day from the time he was 9 weeks old and just now, at 9 months old, began lifting his leg at the park and occasionally on a walk. We definitely think he was copying Jackson and the other dog. He was neutered prematurely through the rescue at 8 weeks old.

I prefer to wait as long as possible for a neuter (well, like 7 months - one year) to let growth plates close and let them mature a bit.

Deuce was neutered at 6 months. He pees like a girl on the pee pad and when he really has to go when we take him outside first thing in the morning or at night before bed. He lifts his leg when we go for a walk and when he just wants to sign his name on things outside. He does not mark in the house thank goodness.

I think that it's a bit of learned behavior and a bit of instinct. My parents dog was neutered before 6 months and never lifted his leg once.

My male shih tzu was neutered @ 5 months ( I had a co-worker at the time who's papillon started marking all over her home at 8 months and they inspired me to get Ollie done ASAP) and he never lifted his leg or marked anything for the first year of his life. He learned to leg lift when outside by watching my big dog while out for walks. This past summer, when Belle was in heat, he surprised me by marking INSIDE the house! I was shocked -thank goodness he stopped once she was spayed.

Neighbor female does handstands to potty.
 

My neighbor has a schnauzer mix of some kind. SHE lifts her whole back end to pee. She literally lifts her legs off the ground and goes. She seems like she is marking her territory because the few times we have walked I have seen her go almost as much as the male dogs do. Maybe she just isn't getting it all out while she is in the air so she has to go a few times. I suppose that really could be why she stops more often. It is the strangest thing. I just hope she doesn't give my Maggie any ideas about doing handstands to go potty.