monique.c Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Hey Guys, I'm not really sure what to do but my dog Snowy (ten month old, entire, male golden retriever) has on two occasions now peed on people. The first time was at the dog park and he was really excited and running around peeing on trees and stuff and he ran straight up to someone and peed on their leg! I was so mortified, I ran over, yelled "NO" at Snowy, apologised profusely to the poor person and left. I haven't taken him to the park for a couple of weeks since it happened but I took him this morning because I figured there would be hardly anyone there and I thought he might have just been excited around all the other dogs last time, well pretty much as soon as we got there he peed on the one other person who was there, I reacted pretty much the same as the time before and took him home straight away. I don't know what to do so I thought I would ask on here. I don't know how to train him not to do it because I am scared that he will do it if he is around other people now, I don't even want to take him to the off-leash park to play fetch in case he does it. He has pretty good recall (could be better) but when he gets all excited sometimes he doesn't listen to me. Is this something that could be fixed if I de-sex him? I wanted to wait untill he is about 12-18 months to do it but we will do it earlier if it will help. Should I call a behaviorist or do more lessons with him? We did puppy pre-school and basic obedience... I am so furious with him and so embarassed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 He has pretty good recall (could be better) but when he gets all excited sometimes he doesn't listen to me. I think this is your underlying problem. If this is fixed, you can stop him approaching strange people in the first place - whether it is to jump on them, pee on them, or whatever. Desexing might help a little. My old dog marked far less after he was desexed (he had never marked in the house since he was not allowed to do so, but he marked far less outside too after desexing). However, it won't fix the other problem, that of control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 oops You need to keep him on lead or a long line , if you cannot control what he does in public. Train him to pee/poo on command (it won't work 100% if he's entire and into teh habit of marking everywhere) When you see him start to toilet - use your chosen word .. and praise .EVERY time . Then, take him on long line/lead .. and use the command when he sniffs.. if he Toilets- then lots of praise . Make sure he toilets before you take him anywhere! Taking him home doesn't really help him learn anything ..... and recall will not be quick enough ... sniff/pee is only a couple of seconds!! I would also suggest you increase your daily training sessions .. maybe 3 instead of one Just a few minutes at a time ... so he gets used to paying attention to you ;) As to the desexing bit .... unless he is a show dog or a breeding dog - then castration , either surgically or with an implant is a good idea - although it may not stop the habit of marking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sausy.dog Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Don't let him off the leash until his recall is more reliable. I would probably do some recall training on a long rope. Not all people love dogs and there are people that will give him a nasty boot up the backside for doing that, you really cannot afford to have him off leash around strangers while he is doing this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.c Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 Thanks for all the suggestions, I will definitely buy a long-lead and go back to keeping him on that at the park for our fetch sessions. For the training sessions Persephone what sort of things should I be training him or do you just mean the toilet training, we had a toilet word 'go wee wees' when he was a baby but he never pees in the house now and just takes himself outside I so rarely see him go to the toilet at home anymore and when he is on leash walks he rarely goes to the toilet anyway until we come home. How do I go about re-training him to toilet on command this being the case? Do you think de-sexing will help? I try not to let him mark stuff when we go for walks if he looks to be wanting to because I don't want him to get into the habit of marking stuff? I will just have to take him for walks at night instead of going to the park, it was just easier because the park has lights so he can run around as it gets dark so early these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trojka Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Personally, I would contact a behaviourist and in the meantime not let him practice that behaviour, whether by putting him on a long line or by not going to the dog park (is this the only place he's ever done this?). He is an adolescent now and might just be getting a bit too big for his boots or testing his boundaries. I have a slightly dominant boy here, and recently had a behaviourist help us with his reactivity towards other dogs. When she saw him pee on the fence of the fence charging dog he had just had a go at ( ) she immediately asked if he'd ever peed on a person or another dog (he hasn't). When you walk him, do you let him mark wherever and as often as he wants or does it happen on your terms? I no longer let my boy mark constantly, he has to walk next to me and behave, and when I tell him to "go sniff" he can go for a sniff and a pee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 "easier" is not the reason you take a dog to an off lead park - sorry. You take dogs to an off lead park to socialise/play... on TOP of their everyday walks/training sessions. I believe all dogs need a session or 3 of education each day .. otherwise, what do they do with their brains ????? if uyour pup has perfect recall, instant 'Down", will happily retrieve/drop an item, or will cheerfully give you his toys/bones/sytolen treasures... then look up trick training on here - lots of folks do snazzy trick training if your dog needs to improve any of the basics I mentioned, then that's what you do a few times a day. Pups/dogs NEED brainwork otherwise they start to think up things to do themselves .. like digging/fence fighting/chewing plants/hoses.. all that stuff :p takes himself outside I so rarely see him go to the toilet at home anymore and when he is on leash walks he rarely goes to the toilet anyway until we come home. How do I go about re-training him to toilet on command this being the case? You go with him ;) or watch him thru a window.. or keep him in and only take him on a long line often ...almost like housetraining again By all means distract him from marking when walking ... BUT after 10 minutes or so of good controlled walking .. take him somewhere suitable and using your toilet command- let him pee . That way he is learning that he can pee .. but YOU say 'when' Yopu then have the knoweledge that your dog is not fouling every upright object in the neighbourhood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.c Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 Personally, I would contact a behaviourist and in the meantime not let him practice that behaviour, whether by putting him on a long line or by not going to the dog park (is this the only place he's ever done this?). He is an adolescent now and might just be getting a bit too big for his boots or testing his boundaries. I have a slightly dominant boy here, and recently had a behaviourist help us with his reactivity towards other dogs. When she saw him pee on the fence of the fence charging dog he had just had a go at ( ) she immediately asked if he'd ever peed on a person or another dog (he hasn't). When you walk him, do you let him mark wherever and as often as he wants or does it happen on your terms? I no longer let my boy mark constantly, he has to walk next to me and behave, and when I tell him to "go sniff" he can go for a sniff and a pee. It has only ever happened at a dog park. When I walk him on lead I don't let him mark, my boyfriend sometimes does though and I tell him not to let him and he says that Snowy can mark if he wants to I will be much more firm on not allowing my boyfriend to let him mark from now on as well, I told him we should get a girl dog! With most things he seems to not be too dominant, like if another dog growls or goes at him, he just lays on the ground on his back or slinks away... I think I will give a behaviourist a call on Monday, do you guys know any good ones in Brisbane? If you do can you PM me the phone number or put it on here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I no longer let my boy mark constantly, he has to walk next to me and behave, and when I tell him to "go sniff" he can go for a sniff and a pee. It is one of my pet hates .. seeing owners allowing dogs (and bitches) to use the whole world as their toilet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 an adolescent male dog in an excited dog scrum - he's just doing it because he's going through that stage. He's allowed to play but once you see him about to reach the point where he wont listen call him back to you and go play with him. Dog parks only really teach dogs to keep acting like lunatics I dont see the point of them. The dogs just keep getting more and more worked up until they start exhibiting behaviours they wouldnt normally do, then the habit sticks. Never let a dog play with other dogs while on a long line PLEASE. If they get knotted and panic it can be hard to pull them apart or they may injure themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Never let a dog play with other dogs while on a long line PLEASE. If they get knotted and panic it can be hard to pull them apart or they may injure themselves. yes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.c Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 Yeah I won't let him play with other dogs while on a long-leash, I was thinking I would use that when I take him down to an oval near my house which is designated off-leash, we go and play fetch there. I will have to take him for more walks in the morning before work, it's just so bloody cold and hard to get out of bed. I don't let him mark whenever he wants on walks because I think that is gross as well. Do you think it would be worth it desexing him earlier than we planned? We definitely plan on doing it, this is just a little earlier than we wanted.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Desexing wont fix what you need to train him out of. Really there is nothing to say he has an over-testosterone problem, and all he really has done is wee on people when he's over excited .... we had a couple of LOOOOOOOOOOONG desexed males do the same thing at dog club then there is my bitch that lifts her leg on everything ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I find it interesting how afraid we are of entire dogs in Australia and how entrenched the idea that whipping out vital organs is the answer to all our problems. The veterinary profession has a LOT to answer for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.c Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 I guess I am just scared of taking him somewhere where it could happen now as I was so embarassed when it happened, I wouldn't trust him off-lead around other people now in case he pees on them. And that won't solve the problem will it? Or do you think it would be something he grows out of eventually if I just don't even give him the opportunity to do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I will have to take him for more walks in the morning before work, it's just so bloody cold and hard to get out of bed. That's the responsible thing to do . When I started work at 8 am .. I used to walk the dog for around 45mins at 5:30 .. then come home & get brekky, etc .It was a nice way to start the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trojka Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Desexing wont fix what you need to train him out of. Really there is nothing to say he has an over-testosterone problem, and all he really has done is wee on people when he's over excited .... we had a couple of LOOOOOOOOOOONG desexed males do the same thing at dog club then there is my bitch that lifts her leg on everything ... I agree. If you had planned to desex him at 12-18 months I'd stick with that and do some training in the meantime. My boy was desexed at 4 months (he was a rescue), but it didn't stop him from developing the above mentioned behaviour. And the first time I had seen him squat down for a pee in ages was in front of Nekhbet's boy Skoota He's a gentle giant, but his presence was enough to make my boy think twice about cocking his leg. Can anyone recommend a behaviourist for the OP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.c Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 It will be more healthy for me to go for walks in the morning too i guess, exercise is always good! I was thinking about joining the metro dog school in Chermside in Brisbane anyway, I think I will do that too, they have lessons on a Monday night, that way Snowy can get more exercise and brain training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiekaye Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Not all people love dogs and there are people that will give him a nasty boot up the backside for doing that, It would probably stop him peeing on people though, trees dont react. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.c Posted June 19, 2011 Author Share Posted June 19, 2011 Not all people love dogs and there are people that will give him a nasty boot up the backside for doing that, It would probably stop him peeing on people though, trees dont react. Hmmn might be an idea if he does it again, I really wanted to hit him in the face myself but I didn't think it would help the situation and I might get charged with animal abuse. Man I was beyond furious though. I think he is just pretty territorial at the moment. He has been house trained for months and months, but last week my boyfriends brother brought his little mini foxie puppy around and when Snowy came back inside after they left he peed on the floor in the living room because he smelled the other dog in his terrority... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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