Most dogs mark their territory by urinating, whether it’s outside the house or it’s inside. However, the urination of dogs in the house is not the same as the marking stratagem.
Urination is the process that involves clearing the bladder. Instead, marking involves only a few amounts of urine that contain pheromone hormones.
It displays the age of the dog, its health condition, gender, and fertility status. It sends a message to other dogs. That is why they so much indulge themselves in this process of marking. They eliminate other dogs’ marking on their own.
Marking is a normal thing for dogs, not limited to the male-only. Small dogs are more prone to it than large ones. Marking territory starts at the age of 6 to 9.
But in the case of male dogs, it increases due to increased testosterone. Those dogs who are neutered may do less marking. You can prevent this issue through proper training.
Open area marking is like a post on social media for the dog. They stop while walking and sniff the smell. For them, it’s like reading a post on social media. If they make their mark, it indicates a retweet of that tweet done by another dog.
The Reason for Dog’s Urine-marking behavior
Sometimes it happens due to lack of housetraining. It happens, especially in small dogs. Maybe at an early stage, these puppies were not trained to urinate.
Gradually, house urination developed into a habit. Initially, the dog owner ignores this, but when he finds the act, the dog already gets habituated to this process. People notify them as maker natured.
But the fact is it’s due to a lack of housetraining. Until your dog reaches the age of three months, you shouldn’t allow him to ramble without supervision. Sometimes this happens in a house where many dogs live together.
Urinating may be due to anxiety of competition between them. Confidence among them marks less while the insecure ones celebrate mostly.
Sometimes some unwanted or non-accustomed situation can trigger this marking. In the case of an adopted dog, they do the marking for facilizing the area with him. Consult a vet if the problem continues.
How to End Your Dog’s Urine Marking
The first thing to manage is to keep an eye on the. Supervise them. Another way to stop him is when they try to mark and insist they go outside the house.
In your absence of supervision, you can use a boundary to shorten the roaming area of your dog. If the space is limited to a small place or room, they sleep or eat in that area.
Then, they stop doing this. Generally, dogs don’t mess in their sleeping or eating area. Stress reduction is another process to prevent marking.
Loneliness is one of the causes to increase anxiety in your absence. By resolving this situation, you can reduce their stress that turns down marking tendencies.
Clean the stain in your house with an ammonia removal cleaner. Dogs tend to mar that area again. A belly band is an effective method to stop marking when they are in the house.
Read Also: Why My Dog is Losing Hair: Is It Alopecia?
Conclusion
Urine marking in dogs is a complex issue caused by several factors such as medical conditions, territorial behavior, and anxiety. Working with a veterinarian or professional dog behaviorist is important to determine the underlying cause and develop a personalized plan to address it.
Using a combination of measures such as neutering or spaying the dog, cleaning marked areas thoroughly, providing frequent bathroom breaks, and using positive reinforcement can help reduce and ultimately end your dog’s urine marking behavior.