At My Whits End.....My boy just won't stop

[Melish]

Tyson is an alpha male dog of Jack Russell/Pug decent and is extremely dominant. I understand the logic behind the reason for my mature male dog to urinate in the house marking his territory but, if one of the reasons is because he sees our neighbours dogs (all three neighbours have dogs), how do I stop this habit? Also, this behaviour started when my daughter brought her male puppy to our house and he urinated on my furniture but that was a year ago. He was then neutered and doesn't do it any more but, my Tyson still pees in every room in the house on the corners of tables, beds, pots, drapes. I'm at my whits end and don't know how to end this reign of terror. We are in the process of scheduling to have the carpets replaced with hardwood floors although I'm not sure if this will make it worse to clean up as the urine will seep through the floor boards. As I've said, I am at my whits end and don't know what to do next.........Having read some of the responses to other peoples urination problems perhaps my next step is to use viniger and water as an alternative to cleaning fluids and quarantine him to the tiled floor during the day instead of free range. Please help......

[DoubleRR]

Definitely should not be ranging freely in the house!! Nature's Miracle or another enzyme cleaner is the only thing that works to break down the urine enough so dogs cannot smell and re-mark. Meantime, this dog needs to be confined, tethered to you or next to you to be watched, and outfitted with belly bands so he cannot mark!

[Pink-ET]

what are belly bands DoubleRR?

[Melinda]

here is some info on it.
http://www.ehow.com/video_4908348_in...ands-dogs.html

[MyBirdIsEvil]

A belly band is also sometimes called a male dog diaper. It prevents them from peeing on stuff while in the house, you take it off when you let them outside.
They can actually be good to break the HABIT of marking, because after the dog has not been able to physically mark in the house for a long time (and all spots should be cleaned thoroughly), they may not show interest in it because they are no longer used to doing it.

To the original poster: If your dog continues to mark all over the house, why is he ALLOWED all over the house? How can you break this habit without supervising him and while allowing him free run of your house? He's going around marking things constantly without being corrected or anything, so he has no incentive to stop. It's just something he figures he can does because he's been allowed to do so.
As Melinda said, the dog needs to be supervised at ALL times. You can tether him to you with a leash, which would be the best bet, and regardless he should be wearing a leash because if he starts to mark you need to be able to grab the leash to stop him from doing so and correct him.
Right now I'd be going with the bellyband (and he still needs to be supervised because he's learned that the house is HIS territory to do as he wishes) so that you can break the habit of him marking.

[MyBirdIsEvil]

We are in the process of scheduling to have the carpets replaced with hardwood floors although I'm not sure if this will make it worse to clean up as the urine will seep through the floor boards

Sorry, I didn't see this at first. Hardwood floors make accidents easier to clean up, but they need to be urethaned for protection so nothing soaks into the floorboards, or worse, the wood itself. And wood WILL stain if moisture soaks into it, so you need to prevent him from peeing on stuff altogether, especially unsupervised. If he pees on the floor while you're not watching him and you don't catch it for awhile it can damage the wood.

[levismom]

Originally Posted by DoubleRR

Definitely should not be ranging freely in the house!! Nature's Miracle or another enzyme cleaner is the only thing that works to break down the urine enough so dogs cannot smell and re-mark. Meantime, this dog needs to be confined, tethered to you or next to you to be watched, and outfitted with belly bands so he cannot mark!

Where does someone get these belly bands in Calgary?

[renegaderuby]

Is your dog neuterd? Reason I ask , is sometimes (albeit not always), it is a hormonal thing they do for a mate.

[Myka]

Is your dog neutered?

Our neutered Chihuahua was doing this same thing (which is why he lost his last home). He wasn't marking (a little pee), he was urinating (lots of pee). I fitting him a belly band and being this spoiled brat he was then he screamed and cried and had a fit. Then he got over it. He wore the belly band for several months. Most dogs will not urinate while wearing the belly band, but I was not so lucky as Peewee would still pee in it on occasion if he really had to go. We also taught him that he was not allowed to roam the house. He had to be on his bed or on occasion he could be on our laps. After several months we started taking the band off, and by then he knew he had to stay on his bed. He hasn't peed in the house since. They have to wear the band long enough that they forget about marking/urinating, and you have trained him to stay on his bed. Maybe a year from now he will have earned back his right to roam the house.

[renegaderuby]

First, sorry i responded to an old thread. second...I'm aware that neutered dogs do this as well. I've just been told by the vet that often unneuterd males mark more, because they are hormonal if you will. My male who is not neutered yet, has been marking for a year or more. we've got him next on the list for fixing. The pee bands do nothing for us other than protect the carpet, floor, and anything else he marks his territory . We did find though he didnt start this until he had a "sister" come home. she wasnt fixed, and he started peeing the place. now she is, but he has the "habit". we've tried it all...finally gave up and just put the pee gaurd in place. we have a spare too..cause we have to check him , if its starting to soak thru...we put the other one on , and run that one in the wash. he is only allowed outside, or on tile without it. he dosent mind it. its become somewhat of a routine. he knows when he comes in and there isnt a baby gate blocking the kitchen and laundry room off, to stand still and await one of us to wrap him. if the gate is up, he knows he dosent have to have it. stupid enough to pee the place, smart enough to learn when he gets the pee wrap. Sigh....lol.

[Myka]

Ah I see, someone bumped the thread looking for a belly band in Calgary.

Originally Posted by levismom

Where does someone get these belly bands in Calgary?

We found one at Petsmart. We also found them at Critters (specialty dog/cat food store) and Petland. With the tiny dogs you might have to hunt around through the different brands to find a good fit since just a little tight hurts them, and just a little loose falls off.

[GalaxiesKuklos]

Your dog is not "alpha" nor is he "dominant" and describing him as such only adds useless labels that don't help you solve the problem.

As it has been mentioned, the dog should not have free run of the house. In fact, I would crate it and begin house-training as it was a brand new dog. This means scheduled feedings, water, crating and supervised elimination breaks. At no time should the dog be unsupervised.

House soiling is one of the main reasons people give when abandoning dogs and really there is no excuse when a systematic approach can solve the problem.

..... you have had him medically checked for infections, and other problems?

[Melinda]

the OP asked the question over a year ago and never came back for replies, yes it is helpful for new comers or "seekers" to see the options, but to ask the OP for more info is useless, I doubt she'll be back to answer. *S*