Rescue dog marks inside - 2009-05-01

Question

Hi, we recently adopted a 6-8 year old male dog from doggie rescue. He is a lovely, gentle dog and we have managed to mostly house-train him very quickly - he may have been trained prior to his four months in the pound. However, he was only recently de-sexed and he still has a tendency to mark inside the house on occasions so we have to keep him restricted to only part of the house while our other dog has full access. We are praising him greatly when he toilets or marks outside and cleaning up any obvious 'accidents' inside with baking soda but we're not home during the day to keep an eye on him at all times. Do you have any tips for resolving the problem or is he likely to have to be permanently restricted to non carpeted areas? He doesn't have any other behavioural issues and isn't showing any signs of trying to be "dominant" (he puts up with our other dog sitting in his bed for example). He marks mostly in his own bed, near their food (which seems odd) and around the dining table.

Answer

Well done, and especially adopting a more mature aged dog.... Not knowing what your other dog is, and what sex (or desexed?) – all will influence his reaction. He has decided he likes you and the family and wants to stay – so he starts marking his area as ‘his’. Whilst this is a sign of dominance it is in this case more a sign of the dog wanting to establish himself. Restricted access is a very good option, and as he settles more and has less accidents, allow more access. With any accidents the key is to remove the scent – we use 25% white vinegar solution after you have cleaned it up. The idea is the liberally spray this on and let it air dry, so it can dissolve the protein in the urine that retain the scent. Try not to molly coddle him too much, even if you like to show him attention, make him deserve it, rather than going from famine to feast! Patience and consistency and if needed get professional help.