We need help!

[ScreamNdemon]

My dobe and mini pin have decided to have a contest of who can pee on the furniture the most. This is something new. They are crate trained and never have accidents while crated. My wife and I have tried the "Now thats a no no" type discipline all the way to the "authoritative" approach. Nothing is working. We don't crate them at night and we cant start now for there would be no sleep in this house if we do. They have, every once and a while had accidents during the night but they now raise the leg while looking straight at us. I have seen them come in from being outside and raise the leg straight way. We don't want to go the neutered rout, so what else can we do? Thanks.

[Sue J]

Boy, that's a good question. I look forward to the advice on this. I wish I had some advice on this for ya, I've never had 2 boys in the house. I've always heard though that male marking worsens with 2 in the same territory. I did notice that our male chihuhua wanted to mark more when we brought our second female inside. When he did it, we took him to his mark if we caught him and told him how bad he was and out he went. The little devil didn't care if he hit anything, he air marked!! He stopped marking though when he got used to the second female being inside.

[violator]

i have an unnuetered male doberman and a staffordshire bull terrier/collie cross and i dont have any marking problems, do not stand for it.

[Sue J]

I forgot I had this. I liked the explanation of "why". We do use the Resolve Pet Stain cleaner all the time and it cleans up pretty well and even when our little girls had accidents they didn't go to the same place again. Of course I don't truly know if it was because of the cleaner or because they're smart enough to think "well if I go somewhere else I won't get caught". lol

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_Marking.php

[Sue J]

violator, you said you "didn't stand for it". How did you handle it?

[jelly8bean]

I guess I don't want to hear violator's answer on this one.. the tone alone puts me off.

SueJ, I did like your link to the marking behavior.. and I do agree this does sound like marking.

ScreamNdemon is there a breeding program you are pursuing with your dogs that you don't want to have them fixed? It would not solve the problem, but might help longer term (and of course there are all the other behavior and medical issues that are helped with neutering).

Also what are the issues with crate training? All of my dogs are crate trained and it is great, they have a nice den to retreat into when they want to take a nap.

It has been a while since I have had a male dog in the house, all three of mine are female at this point. My first male dobie did have marking issues, but with training these went away quickly. I got him at 10 months, completely wild but loving, from a young couple who thought he was cute as a puppy but didn't want his grown body around their condo. Basic crate training and housebreaking got him reasonable.. but he marked in one room a few times. Once I got him into basic obedience he just stopped doing it. He was fixed, and lived with my neutered female rott mix and I for 12 years... what a love.

I guess more information is needed to be able to frame a realistic plan.

[violator]

violator, you said you "didn't stand for it". How did you handle it?

you have read it wrong honey, i mean do not stand for it...as in U dont stand for it, dont let it happen even once, i am lucky i have a room that is "the dogs room" ie:they have there own bedroom, somewhere they can go and cause havoc lol, it has a spongy rubber floor i put down (the kinda stuff in scotland you put under kiddie swings in public parks) so they can go crazy and not hurt themselves, but they also go in there when bad so if/when they did do something wrong i would tell them "in your room" and they would go.

basically what i am saying is have somewhere they go when they have been bad, so they know they have done wrong...thats how i dealt/deal with two crazy hyper boys.

hope this helps.

[ScreamNdemon]

Thanks for the replies guys. I honesty think Apollo raises his leg just to let us know he wants to go out side. He has did this and THEN ran for the door when its to late. It is a problem but sometime I have to laugh at his technique. Keep em coming, we are trying.

[violator]

how often does your dobie get out ?

[SnuzerDog]

This is going to sound simple, but I've also heard two trainers recommend it, and met some other owners who say it worked for them as well.

When I brought Deano home, all seemed OK at first. He is crated when we are not home, and there were only a couple accidents until he became accustomed to our walking schedule. Whenever we are home he has the run of the downstairs, and after a few weeks we began to see the occasional puddle. I suggested my wife and I kind of set him up in a situation where he was free to roam and we appeared to not be nearby, but in reality we were each in a spot where at least one of us could see him anywhere he might go. And, after a few quiet minutes he stopped to lift a leg... at which point my wife screeched at the top of her lungs, "Noooooooo!!!" Never thought I'd see an 80lb dog levitate directly up like he did, but I swear he came off the floor at least six inches. I quickly snapped the leash on him and took him out, and the first stop he made I praised him very highly.

I swear, we haven't had a problem in the last three months since! :D

[fritz'mom]

at which point my wife screeched at the top of her lungs, "Noooooooo!!!" Never thought I'd see an 80lb dog levitate directly up like he did, but I swear he came off the floor at least six inches. :D


Great story! It's good to laugh first thing in the morning, thanks...:p

[Sue J]

love the levitation thing...that's funny!