>>>>Hi all, I have just added a new member to my pack and all is not well. The new member is a unaltered senior citizen chi named Pedro. Pedro looks like me may be crossed with a [bleep]zu. He is approximately 7-8 years old and is the sweetest chihuahua i've laid eyes on. I also have a purebred 6 month old male chihuahua who is not neutered yet, because I plan to breed him this fall.
>>>>They have no issues and can be left out together but the territory marking is getting very irritting. Is there anyway that I can solve this problem without neutering the baby yet?
>>>>My vet recommended that I give the older chi progesterone pills to convince him he doesn't need to "mark" as often. Has anyone else had these issues? I would really love to keep Pedro, but
>>>>this can't keep going on. If you have any tips or suggestions please respond back asap! I'm going NUTS!
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>>>>Thanks~~Marie and the "kids": Nippy, Roo, Angus, Charlie, Weenie, Lucky, Ted, Lenny, "Killer", and the newest member of the crew...Pedro.
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>>Neutering is really important at his age, not only as some hope of helping the urine-marking, but also to avoid prostate problems. He will need to be confined whenever you can't watch him, so he doesn't mark all over the house. A "playpen" approach works well, using a small room with a babygate across the doorway or a portable exercise pen. For times you can supervise him in the house, you might try a belly band to catch urine.
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>>Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47
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I just noticed your other Chi isn't neutered and you are planning to breed him. That's a recipe for him to keep right on marking. Being intact makes it very likely with a toy breed male, and being bred makes it pretty much inevitable. Plus even if you neuter the older dog, the younger one urine-marking in the house will trigger the older one to do it, too. You're going to need to use confinement methods for both dogs.
Artificial insemination methods are so sophisticated now that you might want to consider that for the mating. It could make a lifelong difference in your dog's housetraining. Male Chihuahuas seem to be quite difficult to housetrain, from the mail I get!
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47
