What do you actually do when your male dog starts marking inside of your home? So it’s pretty common; you’re actually going to see this behavior begin to crop up in dogs around the time they’re about eight months to a year old.
There is one sure way to get rid of them actually marking inside your home, and that is to neuter your dog before six months. Don’t do that. Do NOT neuter your dog before six months. If you want to know why send me a message, and I’ll give you plenty of reasons why we do not recommend neutering your male dog at six months. But, if you wanted to eliminate your dog from marking, you would neuter them very early. That would not allow the secondary sex characteristics of any male gender species to begin to do any of those male behaviors.
Already Marking?
Okay, so your dog is already marking; what do you do? Well, the first thing you’re going to need to do is you’re going to have to be very disciplined with yourself about how much freedom your dog is getting inside of the home. That’s really where it’s at because the dog is going to be opportunistic. They say, “oh, the back of the couch smells like urine, that’s a place that I should mark,” or “oh, there was a female dog scent there that was rubbed off on a tree outside, oh I should go there.”
And because we can’t pick up on scent the way a dog can, if their nose receives a signal that that’s the place to go, they’re going to begin to go there. So you’re going to have to be very vigilant inside your home about watching your dog. Probably keeping your male dog on a leash, keeping them on their place quite a bit, but here’s the one thing that I recommend.
I’m going to get a little funny, but I’m gonna bring some practicality to it. One thing that I would do as a guy if I wanted to teach my male dog where to mark would go right in my backyard, pee exactly where I wanted the dog to pee. Bring the male dog over, have him sniff, to show him that’s where I want you to go. The smell of urine is going to tell the dog that that’s where you’re going to go.
Where Should The Dog Go?
How many times have you seen your dog go to the fire hydrant or go somewhere else that another dog has gone? So what I want you to do if you’re struggling with your dog marking inside the home is the following. I want you to actually show them where you want them to go, whether it’s in your backyard, in your walk, wherever it is in your daily comings, and goings. Where should the dog be going?
You need to begin to show the dog that’s where you want, and you need to begin to reinforce the dog very heavily every time. It would help if you eliminated all the opportunities for the dog actually to mark inside your home.
Don’t Correct An Accident
Now, if you have ever heard me talk about potty training before, I’ve always said that I do not want you to correct your dog if they have an accident inside your home. And that still holds true even right now. But, if your dog is marking in your home, that is a different behavior. If your dog is marking in your home, you can correct it. You literally only have 1.5 seconds from the moment that they finish peeing, though. If you don’t have a remote collar in your hand to tell them not to mark their territory, you’re too late, don’t do it.
I would heavily focus on teaching the dog that I only want you to mark outside and then manage them inside the home.
Those are my tips for getting your dog to stop marking inside your home. It can be troublesome, and I would like to continue this kind of regimen with a dog for about a month; it has to be pretty structured. And yes, if you do catch your dog in the act, please tell them that they’re in trouble and make sure they get in trouble and reward them for when they get it right.
I hope this was helpful. Remember, you can find more videos like this on my YouTube Channel or right here on my website www.longoriahausdogtraining.com.
Happy Training!
