# sudden marking issues*



## bigsmom (Sep 8, 2007)

*alright so Big's is a little more than 8 months old and is 98% potty pad trained to go in his "potty tent"....
he has never been caught marking inside my apartment...he only goes to his potty area....and marks outdoors..

Ever since I got him I have taken him with me MULTIPLE times to my best friend's condo and my boyfriends house.
he has always done fine off leash just playing with everyone and laying on their couches...
never had accidents because I leave a small stash of potty pads at both of their homes...

BUT..
Within the last month I have taken him over to their houses and have caught him marking!!
(and yet still using the potty pads too)
he has also made some puddles at Petsmart :smpullhair: 
(Besides Petsmart the other places do not have any pets...)


Basically I'm worried that I'm going to have to buy stock in Belly Bands ????!!!!!!!
& I want to know if any of you have experienced/conquered this issue....
and how you handle it.


I love taking him everywhere with me and before now he's always done great..
but I'm afraid he's going to be confined to our apartment because his 
marking is embarrassing and rude on my part. :smilie_tischkante: :blush: 


[I'm even afraid to put him down in the new pet boutique downtown
where they insist I let him run around because they love him...
but I'm too scared he'll pee on the racks of clothes!]


he was neutered early when he turned 5 months...
and this plus some aggression just started within the last month...




any suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated....


thanks in advance :grouphug: 
kaela



PS. he has a weird affinity for marking on the floor next to things that hang freely...like shades/shower curtains/a bed blanket hanging off the bed loosely (does that have any significance?)
*


----------



## ShilohsMom (Jun 25, 2007)

I do not have this problem with either boy, both are outdoor squatters, but I am pretty sure you have to treat this as a training issue, the same way you would any undesirable behavior. Is he aggressive to people or other animals? Also is there another dog at the homes you visit? I would start some sort of training probably NILF before either issue gets worse.


----------



## bigsmom (Sep 8, 2007)

> I do not have this problem with either boy, both are outdoor squatters, but I am pretty sure you have to treat this as a training issue, the same way you would any undesirable behavior. Is he aggressive to people or other animals? Also is there another dog at the homes you visit? I would start some sort of training probably NILF before either issue gets worse.[/B]



ya Bigs squats indoors and outdoors when it's a full pee.......he only lifts his hip...not the full leg if he's marking the special bricks outside....

I made another post awhile ago about his sudden aggression....he barks at strangers at a distance but is never aggressive to any human that approaches.... 
he loves kids adults..and even BIG dogs........his only aggression is towards small dogs usually under 20 lbs. (might have to do w/his training class is a German Shepard and 2 Labs)
he gets really ancy and snarls if they challenge his alpha position........it's strange...but he's been doing better on a regular leash VS. the retractable.....

there aren't any other dogs at the homes we visit....which is the strange thing....I sort of understand his issues at petsmart.....but I don't understand what he's got to prove at my bf and best friends houses.......maybe dogs lived there with previous owners? but none of us know!!?...

and about the NILF.....we usually practice this with everything...just because that's how things work ..I didn't even know it had a name... 
but he doesn't get his food until he sits down....he can't leave the house until he stays and rolls over for me to put his harness on....I always put him in stay and walk out the door first.....etc. so I don't know where all of this is coming from...................if you have any other NILF tactics or other training style..let me know 


thanks for the response*


----------



## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I treat marking as a housetraining issue. That means back to the baby basics. Total supervision or confinement. If you go out, keep him on a short leash attached to you (even in other's homes). Petsmart - he needs to be walking on loose leash with attention to you. Any sniffing and he needs to be redirected to you. 

For marking, I find it helpful if I have one place that is okay to mark. That can't be the whole outdoors. Pick just one area and give him a cue "go ahead and sniff" or whatever and praise him for marking. Otherwise, short leash so he is walking right with you. No sniffing around and marking. One chance to pee. 

Praise him for peeing when he does the whole amount. This is the only pee that gets rewarded. If you know he's just going half way, uh oh no reward. 

I would get him in the next level of obedience class. It is a good place to practice walking on loose leash around other dogs.


----------



## angela923 (Nov 24, 2005)

Pudding had the same problem when my roomate's sister's chihuahuas came to stay with us for a few months. He never marked but I guess he learned from her Chi's because they were peeing and marking everywhere.... Did you boy maybe learn that behavior somewhere? Now that they're gone, he doesn't do it anymore. I just got Marshmallow a month ago and he didn't have a problem wth marking. Just watch him like a hawk when he's free to run around.. and if he's at some one else's place... make sure he pees before he's let to roam around... I find that helped me with Pudding. Good luck!!!


----------



## angela923 (Nov 24, 2005)

Pudding had the same problem when my roomate's sister's chihuahuas came to stay with us for a few months. He never marked but I guess he learned from her Chi's because they were peeing and marking everywhere.... Did you boy maybe learn that behavior somewhere? Now that they're gone, he doesn't do it anymore. I just got Marshmallow a month ago and he didn't have a problem wth marking. Just watch him like a hawk when he's free to run around.. and if he's at some one else's place... make sure he pees before he's let to roam around... I find that helped me with Pudding. Good luck!!!


----------



## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

Hi Kaela (Gosh that's a pretty name! How do you pronounce it? Kay-la?) Oh...back on topic! Hee Hee. First
don't panic! It just looks like Bigs is living up to his name in the Alpha or Dominant department!! You letting him
watch Sex And The City ReRuns?? :HistericalSmiley: He can be trained. But just to give you peace of mind, when 
going to a friends house or pet boutique, keep him in a belly band. It will help you to be less stressed and in
turn, he won't pick up on it. Do some training visits with the whole purpose in mind that this is a training session,
not a social outing. Keep him leashed to you or confined in a small area so you can see him at all times. Then when he attempts to mark, you can quickly stop him with whatever form of training you have found affective. I got Jett at a year and he had not been neutered until then nor housetrained. He is doing very well on marking now. I just
calmly pushed his leg down with a firm "no". A couple times of this is all it took since he knows the disapproving "no" from other things! LOL Some people do a lound noise or sound. I don't cuz poor Zoe thinks she did something wrong so I had to figure something else out. Good luck and it sounds like your doing an amazing job on training him.


----------

