# Obsessive Urine Marking - help!!



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Well, my sons 2 dogs will be moving in with me in 2 weeks. Shadey is an adorable, sweet, affectionate, loving, rescued boxer mix that I love very much but he has a male issue that needs resolved. They adopted him when he was 3 1/2 years old and he had been kept outside in a back yard his whole life. He has adapted well to living indoors and LOVES being a house dog. And we have pretty much convinced him to not mark every where in the house as long as we let him out back immediately when he first arrives here so he can relieve himself and when he first wakes up in the morning if he spends the night. 

The problem is that he urinates EVERYWHERE in the back yard. He goes on the deck, on patio furniture, on potted plants, on the wheelbarrow, on the fence, on the vegetable plants, on garden tools, on the grill, (you get the idea). He had a play date with another dog the other day and he even urinated on the other dog! He has lifted his leg on people that he meets! 

He was neutered when they rescued him but I don't know at what age he was neutered. So, is there anything we can do about obsessive urine marking in a male dog? Sometimes I think he's going to dehydrate himself in the backyard. Plus it is embarrassing for my son when he takes his dog to meet someone and the dog pees on them! He really is just a big, goofy, loveable dog and doesn't act like it's a particularly territorial thing.


----------



## Guest (Apr 6, 2010)

chowder said:


> Well, my sons 2 dogs will be moving in with me in 2 weeks. Shadey is an adorable, sweet, affectionate, loving, rescued boxer mix that I love very much but he has a male issue that needs resolved. They adopted him when he was 3 1/2 years old and he had been kept outside in a back yard his whole life. He has adapted well to living indoors and LOVES being a house dog. And we have pretty much convinced him to not mark every where in the house as long as we let him out back immediately when he first arrives here so he can relieve himself and when he first wakes up in the morning if he spends the night.
> 
> The problem is that he urinates EVERYWHERE in the back yard. He goes on the deck, on patio furniture, on potted plants, on the wheelbarrow, on the fence, on the vegetable plants, on garden tools, on the grill, (you get the idea). He had a play date with another dog the other day and he even urinated on the other dog! He has lifted his leg on people that he meets!
> 
> He was neutered when they rescued him but I don't know at what age he was neutered. So, is there anything we can do about obsessive urine marking in a male dog? Sometimes I think he's going to dehydrate himself in the backyard. Plus it is embarrassing for my son when he takes his dog to meet someone and the dog pees on them! He really is just a big, goofy, loveable dog and doesn't act like it's a particularly territorial thing.


I have EXACTLY the same issue with Gunther, my rescued Lab. The worst part about it is when I bring him to friends' houses and he marks there. He lifts his leg real high and pees up and down the tree. It's obsessive. I would love to hear what others have to say about this issue.


----------



## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I would say that you have to start from scratch with potty training this dog to the backyard. Let him know where is a good place to go and where its not ok to go. Maybe if its possible, build an area that the dogs are only supposed to go like a dog run or something. That would make clean up much easier on you as well!

I will tell you now that its going to take a lot of work and training and consistency but there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to potty train him to your back yard.


----------



## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

IMO because of his past life, the back yard is his world. In his mind, everything there is his and the proclaims it to the world. All his life, he has always owned the back yard. This is not a training problem, rather a behavior problem. This is going to be a very difficult thing to change. I've been a professional dog trainer for 15 years and there are not many problems I can't fix but I don't think I would know where to begin with this one. 

You are going to have to get an animal behaviorist to help with this. Don't just look in the yellow pages for an animal behaviorist. Be sure to get one who has advanced college degrees in animal behavior. Anyone can call himself an animal behaviorist. Thats why I say get one with degrees from real colleges, not dog training schools.


----------



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

RawFedDogs said:


> IMO because of his past life, the back yard is his world. In his mind, everything there is his and the proclaims it to the world. All his life, he has always owned the back yard. This is not a training problem, rather a behavior problem. This is going to be a very difficult thing to change. I've been a professional dog trainer for 15 years and there are not many problems I can't fix but I don't think I would know where to begin with this one.
> 
> You are going to have to get an animal behaviorist to help with this. Don't just look in the yellow pages for an animal behaviorist. Be sure to get one who has advanced college degrees in animal behavior. Anyone can call himself an animal behaviorist. Thats why I say get one with degrees from real colleges, not dog training schools.


We have been joking that every thing in the house becomes "his". As soon as we hand any of the other dogs a toy, Shade grabs it and carries it to the other room and hides it. Then he comes back with a big grin on his face. Sometimes he just takes it to the other room and drops it in there, away from the other dogs. He's just like the seagulls in the "Finding Nemo" movie, flying around saying "Mine Mine Mine". And food is definetely not safe on the counter anymore. We almost lost a birthday cake and the kids found a stick of butter missing and a whole plate of pancakes. He also has eaten two pairs of socks and part of a blanket so he is going to be a challenge once he moves in with me.

I've never adopted a full grown dog, always raised them from little pups so getting them with major issues is a new thing. And I thought raising children was hard, then they return home and bring their problem 'grandpuppies' with them :smile:


----------



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

danemama08 said:


> I would say that you have to start from scratch with potty training this dog to the backyard. Let him know where is a good place to go and where its not ok to go. Maybe if its possible, build an area that the dogs are only supposed to go like a dog run or something. That would make clean up much easier on you as well!
> 
> I will tell you now that its going to take a lot of work and training and consistency but there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to potty train him to your back yard.


Natalie

I've thought about that. We have about an acre fenced, with about half of it woods and Shade loves to just run and run at top speed around the whole yard until he's exhausted. I thought about maybe just leash walking him in one specific spot until he's reasonably empty before he starts on his run. Or maybe fencing off the woods seperately which is where I prefer they do their business anyway. Rocky already does all his business in the woods because chows automatically do everything as far from the house as possible. They are just naturally tidy. (Lhasa's prefer to do everything in the house but that is another topic!)

I already have the garden area fenced with a little two foot fence and Shade's learned to keep out of the vegies finally. So he's not actually stupid, just HAPPY! I'm babysitting him this weekend so maybe I"ll try the leash walking and see what happens. He also is very food oriented so treats may be an influence on his behavior. I'm not sure if there is any kind of spray I can use on areas outside to keep him away from certain things like the grill but I will also look for the animal behaviorist (although money is an issue - which is why the son and his fiance are moving in with us in the first place !). Life will be fun soon with 4 dogs and 5 adults all in the same house :biggrin:


----------

