1 yr old yorkie marking territory i was just wondering if you had any advice to give, my problem is with my 1 yr old yorkie, i am doing really well with the housetraining, take them out to yard every hour or so where they do have a wee and i praise them them for it, also i take them out for walk at night to do business before bed too, however my yr old jack seems to pee on stuff for the hell of it, not because he needs to, we had just came in from a walk and there was my daughters quilt on floor and right in front of us he cocked his leg to pee on it, he has done on my bed and other items too. any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. i have been told to have him neutered but i would only use that as last resort. thanks From the topic: Comments Post a comment in this discussion: 17 May 2010 15:48  Hi Lorraine, This behaviour sounds very like territory marking and I think without castrating him it will be difficult to solve. At his age, a year old, his hormones have well and truly kicked in. Castration is a safe, routine procedure and it is definitely something you should consider, if you are not planning on breeding him. Neutered dogs show far less ´male´ behaviour and tend to be calmer and more biddable. Another issue to consider is that the longer you leave him entire and he continues to mark, the more the behaviour will become a habit and may continue even if you do eventually opt for castration. To try to stop the marking without castration you will need to try to find out what tiggers him to do it most and remove those triggers. For example, if there another dog in the house? Sometimes, especially if the other dog is male, that can cause a dog to assert themselves in the household. Is the marking at any particular time? Such as in the morning after the post has arrived (he may feel his territory is being´ invaded by the postman) or after you have had visitors. These things would obviously be difficult to stop but you would be aware to be more vigilant of him at those times. Does he deliberately urinate on new things in the house or when things are out of place (like your daughters quilt being on the floor). If so then making sure novel items are not in his reach would be a good idea. You could also try aversion tactics, like a water spray when he does it but sometimes these simply make the dog more secretive about when they mark. Talk to your vet for more advice but I think it will be a hard habit to stop without castration. Cat |
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