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Much like the miners during the Gold Rush, dogs are territorial animals. They "stake a claim" to a particular space, area, or object by marking it, using a variety of methods at different levels of intensity. For example, a dog may bark to drive away what he perceives to be intruders in his territory. Some dogs may go to the extreme of urinating or defecating on something to say "mine!."
You mark your stuff by putting your name on it; your dog marks his with urine. We've covered why dogs mark territory,now here's how to prevent urine-marking behaviors before they happen in your house.
Before doing anything else, take your dog to the veterinarian to rule out any medical causes for the urine-marking behavior. If he gets a clean bill of health, use the following tips to make sure he doesn't start marking his territory.
Any dog, even a fully housetrained adult dog, may have house-soiling accidents when he first moves to your home. The stress of new surroundings and a new schedule can disrupt his routine. Usually, once he gets accustomed to your household schedule, the accidents stop.
Housetraining your dog or puppy requires far more than a few stacks of old newspapers—it calls for vigilance, patience, plenty of commitment and above all, consistency. By following the procedures outlined below, you can minimize house-soiling incidents. Virtually every dog, especially puppies, will have an accident in the house, and more likely, several. Expect this—it's part of living with a puppy.
By Julie Jacobus, CPDT, OSCT, ABCMT | Training by Julie and Associates, LLC
Housetraining woes are common problems for both brand new puppy owners and adopters of adult dogs. Problems vary, but consistency is key to the solution.
