I recently adopted an adult mix breed. He was neutered before he came home, but he is somewhere between 2 - 4 years old. He marks his territory constantly, however, not inside the house, and today, he marked people. I've never seen a dog mark a person before, is this common? Will he do it again? How do I get him to stop?
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marking his territory
DAmari
Nov 27, 2006 02:35 PM
Replies (3)
KDiamondDavis
Nov 28, 2006 01:37 AM
>>I recently adopted an adult mix breed. He was neutered before he came home, but he is somewhere between 2 - 4 years old. He marks his territory constantly, however, not inside the house, and today, he marked people. I've never seen a dog mark a person before, is this common? Will he do it again? How do I get him to stop?
>>>>>>>>>>>.
You just watch him and move him on if he starts to do it--interrupt him in some way, without making a huge deal about it. It's a strong instinct that becomes habit. The habit can be changed, but takes time and repetition rather than a harsh method. This is a normal behavior and nothing to be alarmed about.
Your vigilance in helping him learn will solve it if you don't get rough and cause a worse problem from fear or defensiveness! He probably does this without thinking, and you'll just over and over bring his attention to the situation BEFORE he marks, so that he changes the habit.
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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
DAmari
Nov 28, 2006 11:07 AM
Thank you for your help. He's normally well behaved, and very cute, and he seems easily trainable. He was brought into the SPCA as a stray, so I don't know his history, but he's got a great personality, and I'm sure that with a little bit of work, he can be taught anything.
Chelle
Nov 30, 2006 11:17 AM
Training overall just seems to help most any behavior issue. My adult unaltered male shiba did this once to an individual. She was a good friend and I was mortified. He's never done it before and has never done anything like that since. She does have a unaltered male herself and we chalked it up to him "claiming" her as his own. Still, I watch when we are together now just to make sure a repeat offence does not happen.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles
