How To Stop A Dog Cocking His Leg On Everything.

[smooch]

A week ago I bought a new 3yr old Kelpie Working dog Jimmy, he is a entire male who will be getting the snip next week. I want him to be a inside dog but atm I have to crate him as he wants to cock his leg on everything. When I take him outside I have to be quick as he tries to mark his territory on the way out. There are probably smells on the tile/concrete floor which I have treated but possible he can still smell it. He is outside with the other dogs when they are let out of the dog run, Diesal my daughters dog was desexed as a older dog a couple of years ago and he still goes and cock's his leg on everything so I have to make sure he can't get in the shed before I let him out. I don't want to keep Jimmy crated all the time he is inside so any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Greytmate]

A week ago I bought a new 3yr old Kelpie Working dog Jimmy, he is a entire male who will be getting the snip next week. I want him to be a inside dog but atm I have to crate him as he wants to cock his leg on everything. When I take him outside I have to be quick as he tries to mark his territory on the way out. There are probably smells on the tile/concrete floor which I have treated but possible he can still smell it. He is outside with the other dogs when they are let out of the dog run, Diesal my daughters dog was desexed as a older dog a couple of years ago and he still goes and cock's his leg on everything so I have to make sure he can't get in the shed before I let him out. I don't want to keep Jimmy crated all the time he is inside so any suggestions would be appreciated.

You are doing ok so far, it does take time and it will be easier in the weeks after the operation.

The only good long term solution to this is to tackle both dogs, because as long as the older one does this, the younger is likely to continue.

You have chosen to use a positive method so far, I would suggest that this problem would be better dealt with negative reinforcement. Slow down your walk through the house and give a correction if the dog sniffs and goes to take the position on the way out. Don't wait for the leg lift, you will be half a second too late. Luckily kelpies are large enough dog that you will get time to put in the correction before it's too late. Dogs always sniff and shuffle before leg lifting, so you need to watch very closely so you don't miss it.

Use white vinegar to clean up any old smells, as it breaks down the enzymes.

[Greytmate]

Just wanted to add -

With negative reinforcemnt and correction you would use the minimum correction necessary to achieve your aim. This varies greatly with individual dogs, so you have to determine what is appropriate for the sensitivity of your own dog before doing this. Or you could get somebody experienced to help you to determine that. With many dogs, a verbal correction is enough.

[Jumabaar]

A week ago I bought a new 3yr old Kelpie Working dog Jimmy, he is a entire male who will be getting the snip next week. I want him to be a inside dog but atm I have to crate him as he wants to cock his leg on everything. When I take him outside I have to be quick as he tries to mark his territory on the way out. There are probably smells on the tile/concrete floor which I have treated but possible he can still smell it. He is outside with the other dogs when they are let out of the dog run, Diesal my daughters dog was desexed as a older dog a couple of years ago and he still goes and cock's his leg on everything so I have to make sure he can't get in the shed before I let him out. I don't want to keep Jimmy crated all the time he is inside so any suggestions would be appreciated.

You are doing ok so far, it does take time and it will be easier in the weeks after the operation.

The only good long term solution to this is to tackle both dogs, because as long as the older one does this, the younger is likely to continue.

You have chosen to use a positive method so far, I would suggest that this problem would be better dealt with negative reinforcement. Slow down your walk through the house and give a correction if the dog sniffs and goes to take the position on the way out. Don't wait for the leg lift, you will be half a second too late. Luckily kelpies are large enough dog that you will get time to put in the correction before it's too late. Dogs always sniff and shuffle before leg lifting, so you need to watch very closely so you don't miss it.

Use white vinegar to clean up any old smells, as it breaks down the enzymes.

I agree. While training my boys I have always had food on my outside to reward going to the toilet while he is on grass (deciding on criteria is really important- if you aren't clear with the boundaries he won't understand them to be able to break the habit.) and they were corrected if they LOOKED sideways at something in the house. They now won't mark even when the other dogs have accidents.

I found 'grass' was a really easy criteria because it was really easy for the dog to identify. Adding a cue so you can toilet him before you bring him inside and taking him out hourly and asking him to go might also help the situation. It won't eliminate it but I find they tend to sniff more when they have an empty bladder before marking than when they have a full one lol.

[jacqui835]

I had a topic a little while ago (may it RIP...) where I asked for advice re my dog peeing on the belongings of people I didn't like, and one piece of helpful advice that I think is probably true, is that dogs can sometimes pee and mark when they are nervous or unsure to make the place smell more familiar etc. Maybe because he's in a new home he is feeling a little unsure of himself still and the problem may get better with time as well.

ETA I'm sure having another dog marking inside is not helping, but you might be able to derive some reassurance from the fact that even entire males can learn not to pee inside the house - regardless of who else may be peeing in the house. My male is entire, my sisters dogs are not really toilet trained. If they pee in their house when we're over, my dog will sniff it but not mark over it. It seems in my case the only thing that will make him pee where he shouldn't is stress. He sees that a person upsets me, so that person stresses him out too. If he smells something of theirs, he pees on it to cover the scent.

Edited October 14, 2011 by jacqui835

[Alyosha]

You can also try clipping his lead to your belt while he's inside, so that he can't get a sneaky pee in when you're not looking, and you are able to be in constant contact through his early settling in period.

[smooch]

QUOTE

You are doing ok so far, it does take time and it will be easier in the weeks after the operation.

The only good long term solution to this is to tackle both dogs, because as long as the older one does this, the younger is likely to continue.

You have chosen to use a positive method so far, I would suggest that this problem would be better dealt with negative reinforcement. Slow down your walk through the house and give a correction if the dog sniffs and goes to take the position on the way out. Don't wait for the leg lift, you will be half a second too late. Luckily kelpies are large enough dog that you will get time to put in the correction before it's too late. Dogs always sniff and shuffle before leg lifting, so you need to watch very closely so you don't miss it.

Use white vinegar to clean up any old smells, as it breaks down the enzymes.

The older dog that cocks his leg is kept outside, the two only come together when they all are let out for a run. Smoochie has never cocked his leg probably as he was desexed at a very young age. When we go out we walk through the shed (door between shed and living area) this is where I also have Smoochies toilet as he can't go through the night without having to go, he just opens the screen door between the two and goes than opens the door to come back. so I guess this would cause a problem even though I spray the toilet with a uritic spray and than wash it, this is supposed to get rid of the smell, might try the white vinegar ans see if that works better. Jimmy hasn't tried to cock his leg on the way out this afternoon so hopefully winning there. He is also quite happy to go back in the crate, haven't had to tell him to go in.

Edited October 14, 2011 by smooch

[smooch]

Thanks everyone for the replys.

[Chris the Rebel Wolf]

Some cleaning products will actually add to the problem, because the dog's pee has an enzyme that acts as a 'signal marker' and if it isn't broken down properly, the marker remains to encourage them back to the area. The white vinegar may help with this

[~Anne~]

I have had success with using lavender oil on the popular spots after cleaning thoroughly first.

[smooch]

The product I used was Uric Acid Neutralizer from Advantage, its the one they use in the local hospitals. I was getting smells in the lounge room on the tiles when we had a humid day but after using this I no longer get the smells.

I think we might be winning as yesterday Jimmy only tried to mark in the shed once, and that was after Diesal got into the shed because the gate wasn't closed properly, sneaky little shit always tries to push on the gate to see if he can open it.

I think I also need to find some other brand of dog food because boy does he let off some stink bombs lol. Smoochies meals are cooked for him due to his medical issues and I have never had the smell from him. ES is getting me a different brand whilst she is in town today, hope this will fix the problem. Jimmy seems happy enough to be in the crate whilst inside as I guess we spend a lot of time outside, when we come in he goes straight to the crate which is good as I don't want him going to Smoochies food bowl. Smooch is a nightmare to get to eat at the best of times.