# Marking EVERYWHERE! Please help



## MarleyMarMar

I have a 1 year old maltese, he's sweet,caring, energic, affection bundle of joy!!!! But we have a HUGE problem :-(
He is marking he's spot to pee EVERYWHERE.... The bathroom,corners in the rooms,by plants EVERYWHERE & the house smells. I just discovered my dog has been marking numerous spots in the house.
As a pup we had him potty trained to go wee on the wee pads once he turned 1 he began marking all over the house. This HAS to stop because we are thinking of carpeting our house. 
I honestly don't know how to fix this problem at all. The only option I have left is to walk him but how do I transit from marking everywhere to going for a walk to pee? Please give me some advice I'd really appreciate it. Marley is apart of my family & him being disobedient is very frustrating I love him & will try everything I can to make him be obedient please help us :-(


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## Dominic

Belly bands. Haven't met anyone yet that can successfully train a dog to do not mark. Hope someone will have a better advice to you, in this meanwhile belly bands...


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## maggieh

Agree with Beatriz. Belly bands. Northcentral Maltese Rescue sells the best ones on their web site. Fashion colors and patterns, lots of Velcro and wide enough for a full incontinence pad.


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## CorkieYorkie

Pads never worked for us, the only thing that did and still does is taking them out consistently and crating if they don't go potty outside. We almost bought belly bands but taking them out consistently and rewards and praise did the trick.

Ozzie is a marker so he gets lots of trips to the backyard to mark all of my plants lol. Lucky doesn't mark as much, he will on walks sometimes but not in the backyard anymore. He does pee on our fence, though. I think because he saw Ozzie marking on it and getting rewards...lol

We moved from a carpeted apartment where Ozzie marked everywhere, we think he smelled the other dogs who lived there before us. One of our requirements for our house was hardwood floors!!


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## MarleyMarMar

@CorkieYorkie ok I think I'm going to try to take him for walks.....so how do I teach him to transition to pee outside n no longer inside? 

Thank you to everyone else who replied I appreciate


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## Kathleen

Also, it might be worth having a urinalysis done just to be sure there in not an infection causing it.
I am having the same issue with Henry, who is 10 months I have moved the things he was marking, and I am watching him like a hawk. If I see him about to do it, I say "oops" and put him on his pee pad.
It is a battle!
I just ordered a spray that you spray on things they mark. (Nature Miracle No More Marking) Apparently the scent is supposed the keep them away. It got good reviews. I will let you know if it works!


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## glo77

While you transition move the pee pad closer and closer to the door and then out the door. I just adopted an 8 yr old retired breeder. I wanted to pad train her because our winters are so harsh BUT she was used to potty outside any where in her outside part of cage and anytime. After 2 days of trying I could tell it made no sense to her. I tethered her to me for 2 almost 3 days and waited and watched and made trips outside every hour. When she finally went outside in front of me "which was another whole issue" we had a major chicken celebration. 2 hrs later she went again and you guess it RIGHT AWAY , not 5 or 10 mins later, she got more praise and more chicken. We are 2 weeks into being successfully trained here. No accidents at all for a week. I take her out once every 3 to 4 hours . Good luck. start moving those pads towards the door and then out the door. 
At night she was in a small penned in area in my bedroom with her bed and 2 pads. Take the water away a couple of hours before bedtime too.


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## maggieh

For some boys, marking is instinctive not because they have a need to potty. And once they get into the habit of it, it's very difficult to break. Neutering sometimes helps, but not always.

Before it gets to be an issue of "I can't take it anymore," please start with the belly bands. You will all be much happier.


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## Dominic

maggieh said:


> For some boys, marking is instinctive not because they have a need to potty. And once they get into the habit of it, it's very difficult to break. Neutering sometimes helps, but not always.
> 
> Before it gets to be an issue of "I can't take it anymore," please start with the belly bands. You will all be much happier.



Absolutely what Maggie said. 
I have a dog guest staying with us for 3 weeks, he's an 8 year old Coton de Tulear, kind calm and well behaved but he walked inside my house and lifted his legs everywhere. I got him a belly band, he still lifted legs a couple times then gave up. When I take him out to potty the band/pad is clean.


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## lydiatug

Marking is definitely behavioral/territorial...and our female pups can do it too, much to my embarrasment, just ask Terre, lol! It really has no relation to having to go potty, its a conversation between dogs, and sometimes people. 

When my hubby got his first police dog (very alpha but ended up being awesome), the first time he was allowed in the house after the initial getting to know him period, he immediately started sniffing the floor until he found the bedroom, his side of the bed, and proceded to "mark" it...Oops!


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## glo77

yes yes get that belly band RIGHT AWAY> He isn't being bad. He is being a dog.


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## CorkieYorkie

Wow, so not long after posting my reply to this (and reading Paula's thread about Maddie) I witnessed Ozzie marking in Lucky's crate!!! :angry: We moved their crates to our spare bedroom upstairs, so now we keep them out of there unless it's bedtime since I'm afraid of Ozzie marking in there... the good news is that we just hired a trainer (NOT cheap - ugh) so we will be working on it!


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## Mindi's mom

I'm right there with you!! Oliver has been perfectly house trained since he was about 3-4 months old. Now he is almost 8 months old. He started hiking his leg in the house 2 weeks ago. I have scheduled his neutering for next Monday. He has marked outside for awhile but he always went to his pee pads and squatted... Now he pees on all kinds of stuff. Grocery store bags, kids book bags, vacuum cleaner, he even hiked his leg on my sons leg the other day!!! So, we are using belly bands for now and hopefully getting him neutered will stop things from getting worse. 

Good luck!!


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## glo77

Where are the posts about having gone out to get these little markign males those belly bands?


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## maggieh

glo77 said:


> Where are the posts about having gone out to get these little markign males those belly bands?


This thread posts 2 and 3


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## CorkieYorkie

We haven't resorted to belly bands since we found that taking them out frequently and consistently and praising them when they go outside has worked... also I have thankfully caught them in the act twice each and corrected them... let's hope we have better luck!

But yes, if taking them outside isn't working, the belly bands will help you out with cleaning it up around your house. I would just worry about them thinking that pottying inside is okay.


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## maggieh

CorkieYorkie said:


> We haven't resorted to belly bands since we found that taking them out frequently and consistently and praising them when they go outside has worked... also I have thankfully caught them in the act twice each and corrected them... let's hope we have better luck!
> 
> But yes, if taking them outside isn't working, the belly bands will help you out with cleaning it up around your house. I would just worry about them thinking that pottying inside is okay.


Courtney, a trainer will (or should) tell you that marking isn't because they are going potty, it's because they are leaving a message for other dogs. That's why marking is so tough to stop-it's instinctive rather than behavioral. That where belly bands come in - they will still lift the leg to mark, but they will go into the incontinence pad that you place inside the belly band. Then you throw away the pad.


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## CorkieYorkie

maggieh said:


> Courtney, a trainer will (or should) tell you that marking isn't because they are going potty, it's because they are leaving a message for other dogs. That's why marking is so tough to stop-it's instinctive rather than behavioral. That where belly bands come in - they will still lift the leg to mark, but they will go into the incontinence pad that you place inside the belly band. Then you throw away the pad.


Yes, we are both well aware of what marking is. We didn't even discuss it much with her because they hadn't marked in the house in weeks, but Ozzie peed in Lucky's crate the day after the trainer came. I would argue that despite it being instinctual, it is still a behavior that can be trained. At least, I sure hope so because belly bands are an absolute last resort for me. I definitely don't want to deal with them when Ozzie is already potty trained and I don't want him to think it is okay for him to mark inside the house, period.


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## Ann Mother

I must of been lucky because mine pees like a girl. At about six months of age mine lifted his leg on my bed skirt and I caught him in the act & carried him to his pee pad. He has never marked since then @ home. Also when visiting my daughter he would pee on her dog's bed.


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## Bear II

I am getting a 6 month old Maltese and I am neutering him right away I hear that if you neuter befor they 'become a man' that should mark. Any thoughts on this? Yes I would defiantly do the walks and the belly band to save your house! Best of luck!


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## aprilb

Bear II said:


> I am getting a 6 month old Maltese and I am neutering him right away I hear that if you neuter befor they 'become a man' that should mark. Any thoughts on this? Yes I would defiantly do the walks and the belly band to save your house! Best of luck!


My first male Maltese never marked in the house after neutering. Fast forward to my Teddy who will be 2yrs old in February. He is potty trained to pads but began to mark in the house AFTER he was neutered:smilie_tischkante: and I could not get him to stop so the belly bands work great. He is accustomed to wearing them and comes to me when I tell him it is time to change his diaper..lol I change him about every 5 hours during the day. At night, I take it off while he sleeps.(in a crate next to my bed).


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## sherry

I have had many males and never had a problem with them marking in the house. Until now! Riley is four and this year has decided to mark. Not so much downstairs, but on the rare event that I bring him upstairs to sleep with Sissy and me (Ron snores and sleeps down with Riley), he starts lifting his leg in my bedroom. I yell at him and he stops, then moves on and tries again. I have to watch him like a hawk!


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## Bear II

Ya i gues it is a hit or miss :blink: I am hoping the neutering will help fingers crossed! Thanks goodness for the invention of belly bands:aktion033:


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