Urine marking is something we see dogs do all the time, and for the most part, we all grasp the concept. However, I wanted to do a post on it, because there’s one aspect of urine marking that usually stumps people – when their dog urinates on another dog.
Does anyone else have this problem? Both males, Cisco (Havanese) is my moms, Colby (doodle) is mine. They will be outside sniffing around doing their business, the second Cisco starts to pee Colby runs over and is peeing on him before I get the chance to stop it. It’s not a huge issue as I usually get the time to stop it, but I feel bad for poor Cisco.
I recently came across the above post in one of the forums about a woman whose male Havanese has frequent play dates with her mother’s male Labradoodle. The dogs generally get along well, and they love being together. The only point of concern – and confusion – for both the poster and her mother is that whenever the dogs go outside to relieve themselves, the Havanese will urinate on the Labradoodle. As soon as the Labradoodle begins to go potty in the yard, the Havanese runs over and marks the larger dog.
Urine Marking is All About Ownership
You’ve probably noticed that when you take your dog for a walk, he will sniff everything in the area before he finally does his business. Most people say that their dog is “trying to find just the right spot.” Well, yes and no. He IS trying to find the right place in a way. He’s detecting the scent of another dog’s urine, and he’s looking for the source. When he finds it, he’ll urine mark that spot to proclaim that he is more dominant. You’ll notice the same behavior in your dog if you have a fenced yard. Chances are, he’ll make a circuit around the fence line, urine marking in several different spots. This is to show any other dog that comes along that your yard is his.
We also sometimes see urine marking on toys, dog beds, dog toys, and furniture in homes with more than one male dog. This marking informs the other dog that everything in the home is claimed. You’ll even occasionally see it in females. I used to have a female Westie, who frequently urine marked the bed to show her ownership.
Urine marking other animals or people is done for the same reason as marking a fence line or a seemingly random spot on the road. It’s all about ownership and dominance. I used to have a dog that absolutely loved a particular member of my family. Whenever she came over my dog attempted to urine mark her because he loved her so much.
The same thing can happen with dogs. A dog urine marking another dog occurs for either dominance or ownership purposes. In the case of the woman who posted the question in the forum, it’s actually about ownership of the yard. Her dog and her mother’s dog may get along, but they both want to own the yard. The Havanese is not actually trying to urinate on the Labradoodle. He’s trying to urine mark the grass, but he’s just too impatient to wait.
Urine Marking is Easy to Curb
Urine marking is actually quite easy to curb if you’re vigilant, and that’s good. It’s messy! Learn to recognize the signs that your dog is getting ready to stake his claim and be reading it. As soon as he begins to initiate the action, give him a stern no and pull him away from the object of his urine marking. Catching him in the act is the only way to ensure that he learns that urine marking is no Bueno.
