# Leg lifting is bad?



## mi_ku_5 (Jun 2, 2008)

I've seen this mentioned a few times on this forum and I just don't get it. People have said their fully housebroken males lift their legs *outdoors* and this is somehow a drawback. Why is that? From what I understand males who don't lift their legs often get urine on their chest and/or front legs. If they are pottying indoors why is leg lifting bad? 

I have two males and both lift their legs. One does mark indoors which I attribute to his lack of training before I got him. My other boy wasn't neutered at an early age but I've had him since he was 10 wks old (he isn't a toy breed). His breeder worked on housebreaking even before that.


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## Orla (Jul 5, 2009)

Milo doesn't lift his leg and he gets pee all over his chest!


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Males and females may lift their leg to urinate...it is inappropriate urination (marking) that most people don't desire in their home. 
Marking is a training issue. Even adults with a long history can change their behavior.


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## allheart (Oct 3, 2008)

Leo doesn't lift his leg, but my Flakey did. If Leo did lift his leg, honestly it wouldn't bother me at all. Like Jackie said, it's the marking that is undesirable. Which of course my Flakey did at one point (when he was young), but we did manage to correct it.

I keep Leo in a puppy cut, and he stays very clean, no problems at all.


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

Can ya'll just clarify for me ... when you say 'marking' you mean a dog that lifts their leg and urinates 'inside' the house, right?

A dog that lifts their leg outside is just that, nothing more, right?

I don't know if it qualifies or not ... but I guess some would say my Cita marks outside. If my old Duke would pee, Cita would find it and pee on top within minutes. Now she pees on top of Poppy's pees outside.

HUGz! Jules


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## revakb2 (Sep 8, 2006)

Bogie lifts his leg and has since he was 4 months old. He is fully trained inside. No peeing or leg lifting inside. Outside I let him have a ball marking everything he wants. He has so many rules inside, that I allow him to mark in appropriate places. I do try to keep him out of the neighbors flowers. The only problem I have is that walks can take a long time, but If I want to get back fast, Bogie goes into a heel position, and we go at my pace. Bogie also wants to be the last scent on tree, boys. lol


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## maltemom09 (Jan 27, 2010)

Bailey is just over 6 months and still squats to pee and I just pray everyday he continues doing this


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## MandyMc65 (Jun 14, 2007)

Jax lifts his leg to pee. He does not mark inside or outside and never has - he's 3 so I doubt he'll start. 

His "friend" Lexie squats to pee - she marks outside. She'll pee over all other dog's pee/poo and will even climb on top of bushes to try to pee as high as she can. 

Just because they lift their leg to pee does not mean they are markers and just because they are girls doesn't mean they aren't going to mark!


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

I call my boys "leg lifters" because with it's raining out (or just bad weather) they go to our sun room...and....lift their legs...and pee!!!! :smilie_tischkante::smilie_tischkante:


It's probably my fault.....but those boys just don't like to go outside in bad weather!!! And Tink (being a puppy mill guy) doesn't do "pee pee pads". :w00t:


Is that what you mean? I could care less about them lifting their legs outside, actually I rather encourage it..:thumbsup:


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## heartmadeforyou (May 16, 2009)

Pat, glad to know I'm not the only one with a Malt picky about the weather. Bogie is prissy about it, too. He will hit a pee pad but prefers outside. When the weather is bad he will pee on our front porch! 

Tough to rinse off in the winter without turning the porch into a skating rink. :HistericalSmiley:


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

nekkidfish said:


> Can ya'll just clarify for me ... when you say 'marking' you mean a dog that lifts their leg and urinates 'inside' the house, right?
> 
> A dog that lifts their leg outside is just that, nothing more, right?
> 
> ...


Urinating and Marking is not the same thing. They don't necessarely need to lift the leg to mark. When they mark it's a few drops here and there or on top of another ones pee. Alex will go mark all the bushes in the yard (he lifts the wrong leg so the bush is not getting any urine) and go inside to urinate or poop on his pee pad.


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## MaryH (Mar 7, 2006)

Leg lifting and marking are very different behaviors in my book. Leg lifting is just that ... lifting a leg while urinating to prevent peeing on oneself. Same with squatting ... going into a squat position while urinating to prevent peeing on oneself. Frankly, I think leg lifting males are smart enough to figure out that if they lift their leg they won't pee on themself. Marking is a completely different behavior ... intentionally urinating in a spot where that dog wants to leave his or her "mark". And usually it's a few drops here and a few drops there. And the dog is smart enough to know that it's easier to direct the urine to the spot they want to mark by getting their leg out of the way. I have a male who was neutered at 4-1/2 mos. old. He only eliminates outdoors and usually lifts his leg. I had another male who was neutered sometime before I got him at 8 yrs. old who was a marker, one time lifting his leg so high to mark a tree (where it was obvious that another probably bigger dog had had already marked) that he toppled over. I have an intact male who squats on potty pads indoors and and sometimes squats and sometimes lifts his leg outdoors. I do not discourage leg lifting in the yard. I do not allow marking on trees, bushes, fence posts, etc. while we are out on a walk.


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

Hmmm ... well, I guess my Cita marks then ... as she tinkles here and there and everywhere when we go on walks. We always ask her how she has any left. B)

But, she's 10 years old now, and only does it outside, so I don't see a problem.

Hopefully I'll not have to deal with this indoors with Poppy.

HUGz! Jules


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## SugarBob62 (Nov 9, 2009)

I wish Nelsonw would lift his leg. He gets pee all over his belly and then it's gross and smelly and needs washed.

I don't remember when Andy started to lift his leg to pee. I hope Nelson does soon. Andy lifted his leg to pee outside on nothing even...and on paper in the house...I know this is funny or strange but we actually got him one of those little orange cones to pee on. When he got older and started having to pee more, for when we went out...we'd just put the cone on paper in the kitchen, so he could lift his leg on that. Or sometimes he would half lift/half squat.

But from what I understand if you neuter a dog before he starts lifting his leg, he won't ever right? But once they start lifting, and you neuter they will still lift their leg?
All I know, is hope Nelson does soon, because I'm tired of him being covered in pee!!!


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

Perri is fully outdoor trained and would usually squat to pee until he was 3. Now he lifts his leg mostly when going, even if he's not going against a bush or something. And he's gotten really into marking things when running around outside on walks, and always going over Andre's pee if he's with us. I don't know why this started when he was older, but it's outside so I don't care except for the fact that when he does that it gets pee on the sides of his coat sometimes, even though I keep it trimmed closely under there.


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## beckinwolf (Sep 2, 2008)

Micky has always lifted his leg. He lifts when he is out marking the yard, and when he is just peeing. He does it even when he has no target. He will just run out the dog door and go lift in the middle of the lawn.


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)

Toby is neutered and does *not* mark. He does not lift his leg either. He does a kind of half squat and wittle leg lift. LOL I think it is more that he doesn't want to be in the grass.  However, we have never had a problem with him peeing on his chest.


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## EmmasMommy (Jun 2, 2008)

I have a friend with a male Yorkie that is peepee pad trained and she has a fake fire hydrant ( I don't know where she got it) but its in her Florida room ( tiled) in the corner on peepee pads and he lifts his leg and pees on it. She washes it nightly with soapy/bleach water and dries it and puts it back.


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## Delilahs Mommy (Nov 22, 2009)

Finley, My Moms chi-poo is 9 months old and he isn't neutered yet and he squats like a girl.


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## maltlovereileen (Jan 19, 2009)

EmmasMommy said:


> I have a friend with a male Yorkie that is peepee pad trained and she has a fake fire hydrant ( I don't know where she got it) but its in her Florida room ( tiled) in the corner on peepee pads and he lifts his leg and pees on it. She washes it nightly with soapy/bleach water and dries it and puts it back.


:HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley:


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## Rocky's Mom (Apr 10, 2010)

Rocky is over six months and still squats. I'm hoping it stays that way.


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## nekkidfish (Aug 25, 2009)

Poppy is now about 5 1/2 months old, and he doesn't lift his leg ... but he really doesn't squat either. He looks more like he is stacking, like he's a show dog. I ask him all of the time if he's practicing to show one day. :HistericalSmiley:

HUGz! Jules


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

EmmasMommy said:


> I have a friend with a male Yorkie that is peepee pad trained and she has a fake fire hydrant ( I don't know where she got it) but its in her Florida room ( tiled) in the corner on peepee pads and he lifts his leg and pees on it. She washes it nightly with soapy/bleach water and dries it and puts it back.


that's one thing I would never do. Why would you encourage the leg lifting and put you through having to clean the darn thing every night ? The older I get, the more I make sure the things I buy don't need much cleaning.


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