Dog marking is a response to natural instincts to environment. It is the male dogs who typically do the marking because they are territorial. However, this is not limited to just the male ones. The female dogs sometimes mark their territories as well. Their urine contains pheromones which can tell the dog’s gender, age, and status in a pack if he or she belongs to one. These are essential information that a dog leaves when he marks a particular area. It is like telling everyone that he has been there with the kind of scent he leaves. In some cases, the dog urinates at a certain spot to deliberately mask the scent that other dogs have left. He also does this when he finds an unfamiliar odor in a different environment.
The habit of dog marking can pose a problem if it is not contained early. How to stop a dog from marking indoors is not actually hard to do. It is rather easy but requires patience and time. The following tips on how to stop a dog from marking indoors will show you how it is done:
1. To completely eliminate the smell that the dog leaves, purchase an odor-eliminating spray that can eradicate the pheromones in the dried urine. It is not just enough to wipe the spot with any of your household cleaners because its smell will only make your dog urinate on it more.
2. Locate all urine stains properly so as to completely remove the odor. You should not miss some stained spots; otherwise, your dog will go back to it and continue marking. It is likewise essential to monitor the marking pattern of your pet to make sure that the spots he marks are all covered. Then, all previously cleaned spots should be applied with a repellant spray to prevent your dog from going back to it.
3. Read the labels of the spray before you buy one to make sure that it is intended to work on the pheromones. There a lot of dog sprays in the market claiming they are for dog’s pees when in fact, they are only good as air fresheners. Such deodorizers only mask the bad smell. The dogs can still sniff the underlying scent on the spot thus; will not prevent him from marking it repetitively. So it does not make sense to waste your money on these nice smelling fresheners.
4. Give Your Dog A Firm « No »!
When you see that your dog is about to raise his leg to mark, a firm « NO » should be addressed to tell him to indicate that such behavior is undesirable. Continue doing this to establish a routine that will lead him to stop this marking habit.
However, if after doing all these tips on how to stop a dog from marking indoors and your dog still marks everywhere, then he might be having some medical problems. Excessive urination is alarming. The aforementioned conditions are no longer caused by behavior problems. It is best that a vet checks his condition. It could be that he may have some problems related to the urinary bladder, or worse, the kidneys.