Little pom marking everywhere!!!

delfin

delfin

Cathlete
Questions for those with male dogs: We've got a 7-month old pomeranian who's joined our 1 1/2 year old mixed breed female. Our mutt is so good, only goes to the bathroom outside. This little guy, though, feels the need to mark everywhere! It's not like he even pees that much. He'll just pass by a curtain, for example, and quickly lift his leg for like a nanosecond, so only a drop flies out. I'm planning on getting him fixed in January.... will this take care of this problem??
 
I heard that if you neuter the male early, I am not sure how early but earlier than 7 months they will not lift the leg to mark, but at 7 months, if it bad, you can get a sock and a like a diaper to fit around the girth of the male and bobby pin it and he will only pee in the diapered sock. they make special things like that at petedge.com and other pet places just for males
 
I went through this with my pug for years. He's 6 now & he only just recently stopped, & that was when my other dog got sick. I don't know if that had anything to do w/it but my suspicion is it did. Same situation too--the female mutt would NEVER EVER go in the house, the male pedigreed marked every corner, chair & table leg he could find.

Is the pom crate trained? I did Barkbusters w/Max 2 years ago & this was the first thing he told me to do. Also you can't discipline him unless you actually catch him in the act, otherwise all you do is teach him it's bad to pee, not that it's bad to pee inside.

Also the marking is a sign of dominance. So some obedience training is most definitely in order so the dog knows who the alpha of the house is (I'm thinking right now he believes it's him).

Anyway, for Max the obedience & crate training helped a ton. Whenever I couldn't watch him he was crated, even when I was in the shower. I stopped letting him on the couch whenever he wanted & he was only allowed when I called him. There were also a variety of command & reward methods the guy taught me that had absolutely nothing to do with treats, spanking or yelling. It cost a few bucks but it was well worth it. I'm a happier dog owner which makes Max a happier dog.
 
Getting him neutered will definitely take away his desire to mark his territory. BUT if the odor is still there (to him, not necessarily to you) he might keep doing it. Make sure to treat the areas where he's marked with a pet-odor=destroying product.

My mother used to have a Pom when I was a kid, and when I would visit her (parents divorced) and take him for a walk around the block, he'd lift his leg every 2 feet, it seemed, and let go with just a wee drop. (I'm not sure if he was neutered or not.) I think it took near an hour to make it around the block!
 
Nature's Miracle works for getting rid of the odor, but you need to use a U/V light so you get every drop.

I have a pug and he is similarly dominant (I only have cats, no other dogs, yet they're still jostling for dominance, probably because two of my cats are bigger than him, lol). I second Laura's suggestion about crate-training. This works wonders. Also, you may need to attach him to you in the house for a while so he's not roaming free and you can catch him in the act. The other thing I have been doing with my dog is, when we walk, I let him lift his leg on everything for the first block, down to the park where he does #2, then we go for a long walk on a SHORT leash and I don't let him stop to pee or even lift his leg. He needs to learn there are areas where you do and where you don't, you know?

Personally, I think small dogs are a lot like short men - they have a bit of an inferiority complex and need to demonstrate their masculinity. }( }(

Marie
 
LOL Marie! Our dogs have a Napolean complex!

Kathryn, unfortunately neutering does not help (at least not all the time). I got Max neutered when he was 6 mos & have lived in 3 different houses since then & it never got any better. It was the alpha dog thing--as soon as I broke him of the attitude he got a lot better.
 
I'm hoping neutering will help... since I don't think Bubba thinks he's the alpha dog. He rolls over onto his back with me, and is never bossy or assertive with me. He has, however, growled at my youngest DD when she tried to pick him up a couple of times ... and I reprimand him immediately when I catch him doing that. So maybe he thinks he's above her on the totem pole.

I know about 99% of dog owners will disagree with me, but I'm really not into the crate thing. I feel like dogs should be free in their "pack territory", not confined unless the alpha (me) is not there, and have a bed or special place for sleeping with the other pack members.

So it looks like I'll be trying that diaper thing for a while!!

Thanks for all the advice everyone.:)
 
>Personally, I think small dogs are a lot like short men - they
>have a bit of an inferiority complex and need to demonstrate
>their masculinity. }( }(
>

LOL! How true (on both counts).
 
>I'm hoping neutering will help...

Probably won't help significantly - he's already reached doggy "sexual maturity" and that's why he's marking. Most of these little guys should be neutered between 5-6 months.

since I don't think Bubba
>thinks he's the alpha dog. He rolls over onto his back with
>me, and is never bossy or assertive with me. He has, however,
>growled at my youngest DD when she tried to pick him up a
>couple of times ... and I reprimand him immediately when I
>catch him doing that. So maybe he thinks he's above her on
>the totem pole.

He definitely thinks he's above her. If she is big enough and not scared of him, she needs to roll him or pin him when he does this - that's the only way he's ever going to respect her.


>I know about 99% of dog owners will disagree with me, but I'm
>really not into the crate thing. I feel like dogs should be
>free in their "pack territory", not confined unless the alpha
>(me) is not there, and have a bed or special place for
>sleeping with the other pack members.

Proper crate training makes the crate a "safe haven" for the dog - his own "den". It is not punishment and most dogs like to have that area that is their own, where they can go to be left alone.


>So it looks like I'll be trying that diaper thing for a
>while!!

This will probably help, but I would definitely look into obedience training with him. Good luck!
 
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