Allow Your Dog to Get Acquainted with Unfamiliar Faces
Sometimes your dog may start marking things around the house because someone new has been introduced into the household, whether it is a new roommate, pet, or even a frequent visitor. Chances are that the dog feels like this person or animal has entered their realm and it is marking to show them that they still have ownership over the territory. People are usually annoyed by this behavior, but other animals know what it means if a dog has marked their territory. The only way to resolve this issue is to allow your dog to get a true introduction to the new person or pet and allow them to spend some time to bond with them. Keep the new person or animal out of the dog’s area until the two have become more acquainted.
Will my dog urinate in the house after being neutered?
There is a difference between urinating and marking, and neutering may only help if your male dog is marking. Marking is when a dog intentionally urinates on the spot to mark its territory. On the other hand, urinating is when your dog relieves their bladder.
Since marking is only something a male dog should begin doing when their hormones are kicking in, it is unlikely that a puppy is marking.
An adult, unneutered male will typically lift his leg to mark, usually smelling the area first. There may only be a small amount of pee, and it is usually against something vertical, like a wall.
Occasionally, they may do it out of frustration, such as peeing on your bed if you have been gone a long time. Typically, a dog marks if he is new territory, or if a strange new animal is close by. Neutering does typically reduce this behavior.
However, if your dog is urinating in the house, and you don’t believe they intend to mark their territory, several possible causes and solutions exist. Usually, when a dog urinates indoors, it’s down to poor house training.
Your first step is to assess whether your dog needs retraining. If your dog isn’t fully house-trained, you can read our article on Puppy Still Not House-trained: Age expectations.
Training an adult dog can be challenging, depending on the breed and its associated temperament.
How do you stop a neutered dog from marking territory in your house?
As with most things, the best cure is prevention. By having your dog neutered before they reach the age when they start marking, you can save yourself a lot of trouble. However, that is not always possible.
You may have adopted an adult, unneutered dog, or perhaps you have chosen to hold off on neutering your puppy for other reasons. Whatever the reason, you might find that your dog is long past the age where neutering will prevent marking. Nevertheless, there are still some steps you can take.
As long as your dog isn’t marking every inch of the house, something, or somewhere, triggers it. Identifying a specific trigger, such as a spot, will inform how you address the problem.
For instance, it may be the neighbor’s cat coming for a daily visit or it may be a new male dog in your household. In either situation, it is best to control your dog’s environment and remove the stressor. Another option is to crate your dog if the stressor is temporary.
If your dog focuses on marking a specific spot or in a specific room, the first thing you should do is try to restrict access. Then, if possible, keep your dog away from that area.
Next, you want to clean the spot thoroughly. The marking instinct can get triggered by the smell of a previously marked spot. Because dogs have a very keen sense of smell, it’s important to clean the spot with a purpose-made cleaning solution.
After the spot is clean, you can use a potty training aid, such as a no-go potty training spray, to deter your dog from marking the area again. In addition, you can use a ‘go-here’ potty training spray to assist in training your dog to go to a designated spot.
New items like furniture, appliances, and decor can put your dog in the marking mindset. It can be a challenge limiting your dog’s access to new things in the house. Avoiding a nasty surprise means vigilance, and you will have to monitor your dog around the new thing closely.
Dog’s peeing on the furniture is a common occurrence.
A deterrent spray may help, but if your dog is adamant, it will take direct intervention to stop them from laying claim to your new couch. On the other hand, if you can keep them from marking it, your dog should learn to ignore the new thing as the novelty wears off.
There could be another reason that your dog marks inside. Unseen visitors, particularly strange dogs that come too close to your home, can trigger your dog’s marking instincts. The solution here is less about stopping the behavior and more about addressing the situation.
A dog should receive proper socialization throughout their lives, which usually prevents this behavior. But, if the unfamiliar dogs are marking territory on or around your property, you can’t blame your dog for trying to bolster their claim to the house.
Unsupervised dogs pose a risk, and if possible, you should identify the owners of the dogs and ask them to help find a solution to the problem. If the dogs in question are strays, you must contact animal control or a similar NPO.
It doesn’t always feel great doing so, but stray dogs pose a risk to neighborhood animals, children, and property. It’s the responsible thing to do.
There is always the possibility that your dog is not marking at all. Some medical conditions relating to the urinary tract and bladder can cause behavior that mimics marking. Fortunately, there are distinctions between the behaviors.
The ‘markings’ won’t usually occur in the same spot. Your dog doesn’t think about how the behavior looks to you. If their body tells them to do something in response to a medical condition, they won’t put much thought into it.
If you suspect that your dog might have a medical condition that has them ‘marking’ in or around the house, you must schedule an appointment with your vet. Such infections can start pretty mild but can worsen if they go untreated.
How to Stop a Neutered Dog From Marking His Territory
Territorial marking behaviors in dogs arent at all exclusive to hormonally driven behaviors. In fact, both neutered and intact pooches may claim turf for a variety of reasons unrelated to breeding, such as anxiety and fear. However, male dogs that are neutered typically mark less than their fixed counterparts. If you see a male dog still marking after neuter surgery, be assured this is normal.
In the canine species, territory marking is 100 percent healthy, regardless of how human beings feel about the topic. When a dog sprays urine, he is doing so to claim whatever he sprays as his own, whether thats certain area of your living room, the perimeter of your yard, or every hydrant on his rounds.
Dogs often urine-mark when theyre feeling confused, uncertain or stressed out about something, such as a move to a new and bigger apartment, or the introduction of another pet. If a dog feels threatened about something, urine-spraying may be his way of trying to maintain control, expressing to the world, “this is mine.” Although marking is especially common in male dogs, female dogs also often do it, too.
Dogs who have been neutered may still mark territory, although the behavior is significantly less prevalent in them, according to most experts. Dont make the assumption that a fixed dog wont mark his territory when the urge strikes. If a dog wants to claim something as being his, he may mark it whether hes neutered or not.
The Humane Society of the United States advocates neutering male dogs as puppies if you want to minimize or prevent urine-marking, as its usually a lot tougher to curb urine-marking habits in canines who have fully developed and adopted the habit. The ASPCA advises owners to neuter their pets before reproductive maturity, which is generally around 6 months of age in dogs. You may be wondering at what age do male dogs start marking? The answer really depends on the breed, and when sexual maturity begins. Generally speaking, they can start as young as 3 months old, and up to a year old â but most often the behavior begins at around 6 months old.
By the age of one, most male dogs have either matured and start marking, or have been neutered. However, neutering does not guarantee that territorial marking will cease. In some cases, a male dog may not have started partaking in behaviors such as territory marking, and he may never start. But in other cases, even with neutering, the dog can continue marking behavior its whole life.
If your dog suddenly starts urinating indoors, territorial urine-marking may not necessarily be at fault. You may be able to discern the difference just by looking. According to some experts, territorial-marking urine typically appears on vertical spaces such as doorways and walls. The amount is usually a spritz rather than a full bladder movement. If youre worried that perhaps your house-trained dog may be house-soiling rather than marking, schedule an appointment with the veterinarian. House-soiling in dogs may be associated with medical conditions such as liver disease, chronic kidney failure, and bladder infection.