? about dog "marking" things

[hereyago]

All right. I have 2 dogs, but this has never happened to me.

My friend has a Great Pyrenees and is a male almost 2 years old now.

here is the problem. He is housebroken, but he has been "marking" the friend's baby's things, like playpen. She just bought another one, just to have him mark it again. He also would mark her new boyfriend-baby daddy's things, but the guy is gone.

So, friend is getting way upset as in wanting to give the dog away. He is a good dog aside from the marking. Any advice?

[kacaju]

is the dog fixed? She should crate the dog if it cannot be trusted in the house.

[christiane]

First thing to know is if he is neutered. Un-neutered males will make their territory. So if not already done, time for a little surgery!

Once neutered the behaviour should stop in a few months. It takes a while for the testosterone to leave the body after surgery. In the meanwhile, he should never be left unattended in the house. He should be crated when he is unsupervised.

If he is already neutered, then it needs to be determined whether it is a medical problem (such as an infection) or behavioural problem (such as fear or dominance). Medical problems are usually straight-forward but behaviour problems are much more complicated & your friend needs to consult with her veterinarian or veterinary behaviourist.

She needs to clean the affected areas well with an enzymatic cleaner so he is not attracted back to the affected areas.

The problem can resolve, but it will take some effort on your friend's part. There is no quick fix. Not easy with a little baby, but hopefully your friend will make a committment to her pet.

[tazdev3225]

I had this problem when my DD was born with a Siberian Husky. He would spray her things everytime he heard another dog bark. How I let him live I don't know because I found out when I put her in a puddle if you know what I mean. I took him to the vet and was given a very simple reason. Dogs were pack animals before they were domesticated. Some dogs still have the sense of being in a pack. The dominant male marks the other dogs so they know that is the pack they are a part of. The dog is just marking the baby and his things so any other animal knows he is his. Ypur friend may be able to break the dog of this. I eventually had to give my husky away because he wouldn't stop. Fixing him didn't help either. I wish her good luck with her problem.

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I don't have much help, but wanted to say that my neutered dog (he's a rescue and was neutered at about a year old) marks too, so it's not just unneutered dogs. Perhaps if he'd been done as a puppy it would be different.

[kim929]

I am having this very problem with my 2 yr old yorkie. He has been house trained since he was a little puppy. I do have my 9 mo old granddaughter living with me. I took him to the vet to rule out infection, none. she thought maybe crystals but that wasn't it either. She said if i neutured him now it wasn't going to stop him from doing it. It could be marking so other animals know the baby belongs to him as a pp said. What my vet came up with is my little guy needs a friend. He had been around other animals until last yr. thats when the problem became bad. nothing I do has stopped him. I have taken him out only to have him walk in the house and mark on my laundry basket full of clean clothes. My dog marks everything. walls, chairs, fridge, table legs you name it. What I did was bought a belly band. I line it with kotez pads, much cheaper then the ones they sell for the band. put it around him so if he marks, it's on the pad. The only draw back, if the dog marks alot, you have to change it all the time cause then it smells. have a spare one so you can wash the band each day. Now if I can just train my dh to put the band back on the dog I would be a happy camper. The other option, the vet said to put him on zanex. he is a very social animal when with other dogs, but he is scared to death of new people. Tell your friend good luck. I know what she is going through it is a pain in the butt.

[skuttle]

Right before our Bostons turned 6 months old, they started marking everything! It was driving me crazy!! They also started humping around the same time. They marked anything and everything. Ruined my living room curtains and forced me to pin up the bottoms of my other curtains.

We were going to wait until Thanksgiving break to have them neutered, but I couldn't take anymore!! I was amazed at how their behavior changed so quickly. The stopped marking and humping after a couple of weeks!! I was finally able to put my curtains down, and I ended up buying new living room curtains that I like a lot better than the old ones so I guess that's a plus.

[hereyago]

Ok, he is neutered. She said he may mark a christmas tree during xmas, but after the baby it has been well, a pee extravaganza.

She said the dog will do it while she is right there. What is up with that? He has a dog sister, a golden retreiver, so he isn't bored or lonely.

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally Posted by hereyago

All right. I have 2 dogs, but this has never happened to me.

My friend has a Great Pyrenees and is a male almost 2 years old now.

here is the problem. He is housebroken, but he has been "marking" the friend's baby's things, like playpen. She just bought another one, just to have him mark it again. He also would mark her new boyfriend-baby daddy's things, but the guy is gone.

So, friend is getting way upset as in wanting to give the dog away. He is a good dog aside from the marking. Any advice?

Take away his "Sharpie".