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If you catch your dog in the act of marking, try startling them with a noise (such as clapping your hands or dropping keys on the floor) to disrupt the process. Whether you add a new pet or a new person to the family, such as a significant other or even a baby, your dog could perceive this as a challenge to the family hierarchy. If your dog starts to spray near or on your bed, or near the new person’s clothing, this is a sign your dog is feeling challenged.
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Reinforcing desirable behaviors, such as laying on a dog bed and coming when called, can also help eliminate marking in the house. Then you’ll need to supervise your pup when he’s loose in the house, interrupting and redirecting him at the first indication that he’s about to mark. When you can’t monitor him, use management, such as leashes, gates, and crates, to prevent him from lifting his leg.
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Medications should always be used in conjunction with a comprehensive behavioral treatment plan. Your veterinarian or a veterinary behaviorist can advise you whether medication would be appropriate. It may help to hold your dog on a leash except when you are interacting directly with him.
Stress
In many cases, neutering can significantly reduce a dog’s desire to scent mark, but some continue even after they have been neutered. If your dog urinates more frequently in your home, this may also indicate underlying health issues. Certain diseases may result in increased urination, which can be misconstrued as marking behavior. Medication may be a useful adjunct in some dogs depending on their motivation to mark in the first place. Dogs that are diagnosed with anxiety, frustration, or hyperarousal may benefit from medications. Synthetic pheromones, such as Adaptil®, can encourage dogs to relax in specific locations, potentially reducing territorial behavior and the drive to mark.
As male dogs begin to sexually mature, the increased presence of testosterone encourages the signaling of sexual ability and territory marking. Dogs who are neutered around six months of age are less likely to urine mark, or mark less often, compared to intact dogs or dogs who are neutered later. As with many things, training goes a long way toward preventing marking among all dogs. Marking is different from urination; a dog urinates to relieve his bladder of the sensation of feeling full. In contrast, marking does not involve full evacuation of the bladder; instead, the dog releases a small amount of urine as a communication strategy. This is why dogs are so intent on smelling where other dogs have fully eliminated or marked.
Dog Behavior Problems: Marking Behavior
Even after our furry friends undergo the neutering procedure, some might still feel the urge to leave their aromatic calling cards around the neighborhood. Neutering significantly reduces hormonal influences that drive marking behaviors, but it doesn’t always entirely eliminate the instinct. Sometimes, marking becomes a deeply ingrained habit or a learned behavior that’s more about communication and territory than hormones. In most cases, behavior modification is enough to curb your dog’s urine marking. However, in some cases, urine marking can be caused by medical issues.
Scent marking with urine is considered a normal dog behavior. Unfortunately, normal is not always socially acceptable and dogs may attempt to communicate through urine marks even when they are indoors. Reinforcing basic house training is a crucial step in curbing marking behavior. Teach your dog a clear and consistent command such as “no” or “outside” to redirect them from marking inside. Catching them in the act and calmly interrupting the behavior can help them understand that marking is not acceptable.
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This natural behavior is a way for dogs to communicate and establish social hierarchy. Neutering may reduce the tendency to mark in some dogs but is not a guaranteed cure. Marking occurs whether in dogs that are sexually intact, neutered, or spayed. Studies have reported that neutering can reduce marking behavior by up to 80% in male dogs. It is important to remember that neutering can cause both physical and behavioral changes.
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Your veterinarian or a local spay and neuter clinic can perform this procedure. This common expression of anxiety in dogs is often mistaken for spite, resulting in punishment, which only serves to increase the anxious behavior. Scent marking is also more common in multi-dog households where dogs compete for space, resources, and human attention. Before addressing your dog’s unwanted marking behavior, it is important to identify why they are doing it in the first place. If your dog pees in the house, it’s important to neutralize the spot with an enzymatic cleaner to completely get rid of the odor. Otherwise, the smell is an invitation to the dog to mark the same spot again.
Your dog’s stress can be caused by many different reasons — some that might surprise you. This includes adding a new piece of furniture, having a verbal disagreement with another family member or even going to a friend’s house with pets and bringing their smells home with you. Uncertainty and change can cause dogs to become stressed and mark to gain control. If your dog is marking because a new dog has arrived, speak to your veterinarian or dog trainer about the best management plan for this situation. If your dog has just become an adolescent and has started to mark, the best way is to discuss neutering with your veterinarian.
He might look guilty as you reprimand him, but that look is an attempt to appease you in that moment – not because he realizes his marking, which took place however long ago, is unwanted. When dealing with an indoor marker, it’s wise to first make sure you don’t actually have a basic housetraining problem. This is frequently done out of the owner’s sight, causing the owner to believe the dog is house-trained.
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