How to fix this habit? Because last night he "marked" my wife's work laptop that was leaning against the couch. Unfortunately, right on the bottom vent holes.....> dead laptop.

The dog is about 2.5 years old small breed. (Coton de Tulear and Sht shu if it matters.) Pretty smart little guy. Definitely not a pure potty training thing as he is very good (annoyingly at times at night) about letting you know he needs to go out when the doggie door is closed (they have a doggie door during the day.)

Was aware it goes on, but have never been able to catch him at it. If a Amazon box sits by the front door, it is not unusual to find a small spot next to it. He has also gotten the occasional shoe that was sitting out.

At a loss as to how to correct this behavior when it is so hard to catch him in the act. Not even sure what the proper correction will be then. Back in the day with the labs we had growing up, it would have been a rolled up newspaper. But then, I don't remember it ever being an issue. He is fixed. Was at the time recommended by the Vet. Daughter's friend had the Mom and my daughter was there when he was born, leading to the hard sell as to why we had to have him about 6 weeks later...So I have a good grasp on his history and know it is about as normal as it gets.

Suggestions? We are currently in a small dog phase (not my favorite thing) and this one is actually my favorite because he acts the most like a big dog most of the time and loves to play. So, of course, that makes it more my fault.....

Sorry, looks like he is neutered. It is going to require some training. Any change in his general urination habits(frequency, amount, etc)? I generally recommend repeating crate training if there isn't a medical reason.

Can be trained out usually, but not always. So me dogs are just aholes about it and you have you minimize opportunities or watch them all the time when inside.

They stay locked up when we are away. This is something that happens while we are home, but not necessarily watching.

Haven't noticed any changes, like I said, he is good about general house training and asking to go outside when he cannot use the doggie door. That is why I think it is a marking thing not a have to go thing. He is very territorial, friendly and not aggressive, but knows his property and thinks he is tough about defending it.

Electrify his piss spot!

My parents Coton acts like a big dog 100% of the time and it's hilarious. I've got not insight to your problem though

PalomaPachanga said:

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My parents Coton acts like a big dog 100% of the time and it's hilarious. I've got not insight to your problem though

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Yeah, they are funny. Ours will run out the front door, into the neighbors yard and bark at the neighbors. Apparently they have a real protection complex that they cannot back up.

Piss on the dog. That'll show him.

Well semi good news, wife's it department said the battery was bad and everything worked after it was replaced. So Scout gets a slight reprieve.

Still need to fix the issue though.

No help from a training perspective, I've got a S-I-L who has a westie and an Australian terrier. The Aussie will mark a lot of things, so much so, he's not allowed in my house and the few times he does come over, I follow him around mostly until he is ready to leave or in a state that I know he's not going to do anything. His favorite thing is marking our dog's food bowl. The westie never has done it that I know of.

Add on a M-I-L that has a maltese and yorkie, both that are pretty bad at marking, but especially that maltese *******. Same thing, they don't get to come over, ever. Of course neither one them tries to do anything about it so these dogs are very mature and will never change.

My lab will not mark anything inside of the house, however, I do have to keep a close eye on him when we enter a public area like a hotel room or vet lobby. I'll walk him around on the leash while he sniffs everything and I'll cinch his leash if he acts like he is going to hike a leg. I do this immediately after arriving at a hotel for the night and he's fine after that. Dogs senses go crazy when they arrive at an unfamiliar place, so I try to let him explore a bit right off the bat while keeping close supervision.

My neighbor came in the yard the other day and stood still long enough for my dog to mark him. To my dog's defense, he was standing right next to the tree he pees on all the time. Luckily, my neighbor was cool about it but the dog got his ass chewed.

He doesn't normally have a marking issue, except for when we take him on walks. Then he wants to piss on literally everything.

My GF got marked by a huskey at a dog park once. Standing there and the dog just walked up and peed on her leg. I couldn't stop laughing.

It is generally "new" things that come into the house or things that have picked up smells elsewhere, like shoes. Will just have to start watching him closer and try to catch him.

txaggie_08 said:

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My GF got marked by a huskey at a dog park once. Standing there and the dog just walked up and peed on her leg. I couldn't stop laughing.

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This reminds me of one of my favorite funniest lab stories growing up. In High School, had a small party at my house. Things were going pretty well for me with a girl who had come with a friend's girlfriend. We were on the couch, sitting, kissing a bit. All of the sudden she pulled back and kind of yelled/shrieked. I looked down and my chocolate lab was humping her leg. I was laughing so hard I could barely function to get him to stop. Pretty much ended that fledgling relationship......

Get a belly pad, kids dog was marking until we put one on him.