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Scent marking in the house
We have adopted a shelter dog. Bernese Mountain Dog/Rottweiler Mix 1 year old Male. It has been one week. He has hiked his leg a couple times in the house. How can I stop this?
This is not unusual behavior for a new dog in the household. It happens even more often if you have other dogs.
| 1. |
First, if you catch him scent marking in the house, say "No!" sternly, and lead him outside immediately. Never comment or punish him when you find urine after he has marked. If you do not catch him in the act, it will do no good at all to yell or punish. |
| 2. |
Buy a enzymatic cleaner--a product that you spray on the spot where he urinated that eliminates the scent. Do not use normal cleaning products. These do not eliminate the scent for the dog. Keep spraying the spots he marks. This way the smell will be less likely to attract him back to thsame place. |
| 3. |
He will tend to mark on the corners of things--the corner of a couch, the outer corner of two walls, the leg of a table, etc. Once you identify the places he prefers to mark, you may want to temporarily cover these with plastic or some waterproof covering so that permanent damage is not done to those areas, or rearrange your furniture to cfewer "corners." |
| 4. |
Make sure you get the dog on a strict schedule. He must eat meals at the same time, wake up at the same time, go for a walk at the same time---every day. As a part of this schedule, add outdoor potty visits at appropriate times. Also encourage and reward him for marking or peeing on walks. |
| 5. |
Vigilence is the last ingredient. Once you eliminate times when you are in the room he is marking in, when he is crated or outside, etc., you will be left with certain times during the day when he is wandering free and doing his marking. You may find a pattern to when he marks. (I had a dog who always marked the first thing in the morning after waking.) Try to keep watch of the dog during those times when he usually marks indoors. |
| 6. |
Treat him liker a puppy, and make his potty schedule regular and often. Take him outside and reward him for urinating there. |
| 7. |
Plenty of exercise and mental stimulation so that anxiety will not encourage more indoor marking. |
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