How to Stop Male Dog from Marking in House? The Easy Way

Don’t you absolutely love something with your initials on it? Or maybe you do not like putting a mark on the things you own, but you still wish to make it clear that the thing belongs to you. Dogs have their own way of creating a sense of belongingness: by marking. But why do we then need to know how to stop male dogs from marking in the house?

Because marking is a sign that your dog is insecure about its environment, the insecurity may arise from seeing another dog in the house or an unfamiliar person. But since this involves urine and chances of redoing it, you need to know what to do.

Let’s Know more.

When is it acceptable?

This territorial behavior comes as a challenge to many dog owners. Even a perfectly potty-trained dog may be seen marking the house. Such dogs are even seen marking territory on walks outdoors.

But the latter is more acceptable to watch and bear than the former. When your dog is marking inside the dog house, that is a matter of concern. But before trying yourselves, you should first talk to the vet to identify any underlying medical conditions causing your dogs to behave like that.

When your dog is out of the leash, you may find it as more a frequent scenario. I prefer, to keep my dogs into leashes when they show marking behaviours. After two to four days for extensive restriction of roaming, dogs don’t repeat this behaviour again.

Dog Marking in the House Suddenly?

There are some common triggers that cause urine marking in dogs. Moving to a new home, getting house guests, a change in their routine or sleeping place, visiting other dogs, the death of a playmate, rearrangement of furniture, illness, and disturbance from outdoors may cause your dog to start marking stressfully.

It is more common in newly adopted or bought dogs because they want that sense of familiarity and ownership in the house. These are coping mechanisms to them and maybe normal too.

So, if it comes as an unexpected behavior that your dog didn’t previously show, you have some basic tasks. A persistent question that we have to deal with is, “is my puppy marking or peeing?”

Marking is actually very different from peeing. When your bladder is full, you need to empty it; the same goes for dogs. On the other hand, marking is entirely different. It doesn’t involve fully emptying the bladder because it is full. No. Dogs only urinate a little as a part of their communication strategy where they are letting other people and dogs know that the area belongs to them.

And before they mark the area, they usually tend to smell if other dogs have done it prior to them. They smell, and if they find any indication of any other dog’s urine, they get an understanding of their gender, age, health (particularly, reproductive status), etc. This is essential information for a dog.

But when they are marking inside the house, which they don’t need to, you need to start training them. Dogs love it when you set boundaries and limitations for them, unlike cats. So when you exert assertive but calm energy as to what they can and can’t do in the house, like eating straight off a dish on the dining table, marking the carpet or sofa, etc., they get an understanding of doing it less to not doing it at all.

Exert your affection too, but remember to make it more disciplined. A disciplined follower of your training who will follow your words and stop marking eventually

How to Stop Male Dog from Marking in Your House? What expert Says?

Whether you want to learn it for your own house or others, you need to know of some ways other than just training to stop this. Getting a good grip on how to stop dog marking in other people’s houses may be more important as they won’t be as forgiving as you. Here are ways to follow:

•  Identify which factors are creating stress in your dog’s life. Don’t overwhelm them with treats, and when they try to reach you or connect, give them more of that. Structuring their lives and living, especially when you have a lot of dogs, is an excellent way to reduce stress. Teach them tricks and skills to keep them active and going. Let him accept time away and with you. Use homeopathic or other pharmaceutical interventions to help them. Great dog foods can help improve their mood.
• To clean urine spots, use enzymatic cleaners. Avoid ammonia, as urine already contains that. Cleaning old scent and stain is essential as it encourages your dogs to do the same later. Remember to try different cleaners for hard surfaces and for carpeted floors. We focus on enzymatic cleaners as these are more heavy-duty and can work on the scent better.
• Neuter your dog before it reaches the 12-15 month age mark, this will cause your dog to stop marking the areas out of hormonal influence. As many as 60% of the dogs stop or significantly reduce marking when you spray or neuter them.
•  Call out your dog when it shows that kind of behavior. When you and the dog are comfortable with indoor marking disapproval, do it outdoors and stop him there as well.

Final Word

Amidst all these, you also need to know what not to do regarding how to stop male dogs from marking in the house. That is, don’t punish your dogs. That will be impossible if you have owned it for very long, but if you got yourself new dogs and you weren’t sure how to treat them or how to handle this issue of theirs, avoid punishment. Remember that dogs don’t do it out of spite. They don’t have such complex emotions. If the dog becomes scared of your actions, chances are they will be scared and may do more of it. So you can definitely discourage and be assertive, but don’t punish them.