Do most male dogs mark their territory?

[mama2cntrykids]

We have a Cocker Spaniel, he's been fixed for years, but every so often, he will "mark". I don't mind it outside, but in the house it grosses me out. He doesn't do it all the time.

 

So, is this something MOST male dogs do? If it is, I won't consider another male dog again ;).

[Mnemosyne]

I don't have experience with male dogs, but my female, fixed dog will do it outside all the time.

[Pawz4me]

IME -- Most male dogs will mark territory. But not all by any means. Many females also mark. I've owned quite a few dogs of my own and fostered many more, and the two worst markers were both female.

 

But IMO if a dog is doing it in the house, and particularly if he's the only male dog in the home, then he wasn't completely house trained as a pup. So . . . more a lack of training than a true marking issue. Clean the areas very well with an enzyme-based cleaner specifically designed to remove pet stains and odors. You'll probably have to apply the cleaner several times (letting it air dry thoroughly between each application). And give him a refresher course in House Training 101.

[jeninok]

My male does not mark inside ever, and he wasn't fixed until the age of 2. He does pee on every post and fence on walks. My female also marks outside and does that obnoxious leg kick thing to spread it around. She is more likely to pee inside somewhere than he ever was.

[poiema]

Our 1 year old pup has marked our carpet a couple of times, but I know the previous owners had a dog so I suspect he smells them, even though we had the carpets professionally cleaned before we moved in.

 

The worst was when we took him to a breeder for pet-sitting and he marked right in the middle of their living room carpet. We were very apologetic but she said it was no big deal. She said she's even had other people's dogs poop on her floor to mark.

[Danestress]

I have never had an adult dog of either gender pee inside the house. Absolutely not allowed. Both my male and females have peed outside in various places. I allow a dog to pee twice on a walk and then no more.

 

Eta my current male was fixed at 18 months.

 

And while he never marks, he vomits a lot. No way I have figured out how to not allow that behavior:(

[Erin]

Generally speaking, if a male is neutered before puberty, he won't mark... After that, though, and it doesn't matter if he's neutered or not.

IME, females rarely mark if they're spayed young.

 

But then you have the potential health issues of early altering, so this is a mixed bag...

[dirty ethel rackham]

Our dog rarely marks indoors. He has peed a couple of times in our house, but I think they were both due to some members of our family forgetting to take him out. He did mark at the dog sitter's once, but she fosters rescue dogs so she has had dozens of dogs go through her doors. Since others have marked, many of the other dogs feel the need to as well. He attempted to mark once at a friend's who was dog sitting for us. She has a male dog and I think he was trying to negotiate his postition. We know now that, when we visit someone who has a dog (or has had one) to keep him in sight at all times for the first couple of hours and catch him if he makes any indication (and take him outside.) After that, he is good to go.

 

That said, our dog feels the need to mark every tree, bush, tall patch of grass whenever we are out on a walk.

[KidsHappen]

Our two males dogs (one a notoriously hard to housetrain small dog) never pee in the house and only use the bathroom in the backyard. Both are fixed and one was not done until after 16 months old so I would say that it has more to do with being inadequately housetrained than marking their terrotory, especially if they are the only dog in the house.

[LostSurprise]

Our male dog hasn't gone in the house and doesn't really mark in the yard either, but he will mark when on walks. It seems to have more to do with vicinity of the house and where other dogs have marked. He likes to mark in yards he smells other dogs in.

[TravelingChris]

Not in the house. Not next to the house. If he went on walks, then yes, he did on places where other dogs had done it before. He was neutered at a young age- very young, I think. He was a small breed- mini poodle- but very smart and easy to train.

[TravelingChris]

I have had two female dogs in the past. One had no problems with peeing. The other, a lab, was very hard to get her to go. It was super frustrating when we were traveling. She had to have things just so. We got her at four years of age and we don't know how she had been trained. We did know that she was adopted by the previous owner who started working 12 hour days and couldn't care for her anymore. We then adopted her and found that she had bad separation anxiety. We helped her with that and she stopped having those issues but having her go never became easy if we traveled.

[kewb]

None of my dogs have ever marked in the house. Every tree, bush, branch, plant, fire hydrant we pass while on a walk is fair game.

[Ellie]

I've never had one do it in the house. Outside, yes; inside, no.

[RemsMom]

I have had two German Shepherds, both male and both were neutered just after they turned one year old. They never marked. I can take my dog on a walk and he will sniff at everything but shows no interest in marking. I wish I knew why he is like this because people ask me why he doesn't mark and I don't know what to tell them.

 

By the way, I met a trainer with a German Shepherd show dog and she told me she had trained him not to mark. She liked to take her dog everywhere and marking was bad manners.

[Erin]

Also, whether a dog marks in the house or not is often determined by your house.

If you live in a house that was formerly occupied by a dog that marked, even if was cleaned up really well, your dog can probably still smell it. And of course this means he's more likely to do the same. Just to make sure the world knows this is his place.

[MercyA]

My neutered male dog marks continually outside. He's a little guy, so he'll even mark dandelions. ;) He has had accidents in the house, but has never marked in the house.

 

If this gets to be a major problem (not solved by thorough cleaning and re-training), you can buy him belly wraps like this:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24773

[mama2cntrykids]

Thanks for the replies. He's an older dog and typically, we don't have problems with him. We also have a Rottweiler (female) whom I have never seen mark. She has had accidents in the house though (more our fault than hers).

 

Thanks again.

[lil' maids in a row]

Neither of my dogs have accidents in the house. My female dog is much more likely to "mark" her territory outside than my male dog.

[Pawz4me]

If it's more than a very occasional thing, then I'd take him in for a vet check. Could be a urinary tract infection or something like diabetes or Cushing's disease rather than marking.

[I talk to the trees]

My bossy little female marks her territory outside, but my male doesn't. I have never had a problem with any of my pups marking inside (well, except the time I was home from college at Christmas, sitting in the living room floor and chatting with my family, and my little guy sniffed my knee then tinkled on me! :eek: )

 

I agree with Pawz. If it's becoming more frequent, get him to the vet.