The problem continues

[Darcy11]

I made a thread a little while ago about my BC x Gilligan, who has been showing some dominance issues (i.e. mounting, marking when he feels threatened or in a new place) I have been working on his problems, taking him to lots of new palces, meeting new dogs, etc. I've taken some advice from here, making sure he works/thinks before he gets anything, taking him away from a dog when he begins to show dominance-seeking behaviour, but his behaviour seems relatively unchanged, especially where marking is concerned.

 

I've taken a new stance ont he whole marking business, so now when we go anywhere on leash he is absolutely not allowed to mark anything inappropriate, and I have ben encouraging him to relieve himself in our garden before we go out on walks. However, I'm not sure if that is the right way to be going about it because in the last week he has marked a car tyre, a bag, and my foot (though whether that was intentional or bad aim I can't be totally sure. ) D:< This is all new to me, so any sort of help would be appreciated, and feel free to tell me what I'm doing wrong!

 

We start agility in a month, and I'm sure you know where my problem will lie; not marking on the equipment! *sigh*

 

Thanks

Darcy

[mbc1963]

Hmm...

 

My dog marks constantly when we go out for walks. I got him at about 2.5 years, just fixed. Our leisurely walks through the neighborhood are, to him, just one long quest to leave pee-mail for his friends. His favorite thing is to be 15 yards behind some other dog who's going for a walk - he can see exactly where they pee, and then mark over it. He even has a friend down the road who is on his pee team. They will circle the same bush, endlessly covering each other's urine, five... six... seven times. They like each other and are always happy to see each other. I don't think it's a dominance thing with them, as much as a leisure activity.

 

Honestly, I've never seen this as a big problem.

 

Mary

[jdarling]

"pee-mail" ... LMAO!!!!

 

Is his marking only outside, or does he mark inside as well?

 

Jodi

[2 Devils]

Many dogs "mark" after another dog. I call it gossiping

 

If it is only outside then choose what he can and cannot mark. At the same time teach him a leave it command. This command can be extremely useful for many, many situations.

 

My 2 male dogs will mark outside only. Well the poodle tried to mark someone's jacket once but he was reprimanded for that and has never done it again. He had a good scruffing for that behavior.

 

If he is marking indoors, I would one make sure you are actually cleaning the area fully. He may be finding some remnants of the old pee on the floor, wall, whatever... I would also probably start using a more correction oriented response and allowing no free time when you are not there to supervise and correct the behavior immediately.

 

As long as a dog marks appropriate things I am ok with it. I just don't want it out of control.

 

Also, a dog mounting is not always a dominant thing. My borderjack is on the bottom of totem pole at my house. He has no want to be dominant but he still humps. Seriously, when he was 8 weeks old he would hump my purse... I knew then I had to have him.

[theshine]

Shiner's neutered, but he marks too. He marked the corner of my bed a couple weeks ago and I flipped out and yelled at him without really meaning to, it just caught me completely by surprise. Other than that, he marks outside, the usual favorites, fences and posts, mostly our fence and deck posts. If we're walking and he tries to mark anything I don't want him to, I interrupt him and pull him away. If he's marking in our yard, I let him.

[urge to herd]

I'd split out the behaviors you don't like and deal with each of them separately. For the marking, I too have a leave it type of command for Buzz - a mild ahh, not there, and I continue walking. Then, when he pees on something that's ok, he gets a Good BOY! and perhaps a pat on the head. Buzz is a marker, as well, but as I don't allow him to do it where it can damage other people's property, he gets to mark where he wants when we're on a walk. Only walk Gilligan when you can watch him, if he's peed on three objects that you didn't want him to in the past week, odds are you're not watching him closely enough.

 

With the mounting issue, re-direct. Call him away, get him engaged in something else. Some dogs really really really don't like to be mounted, Gilligan could be in for a very unpleasant surprise. I'd really be working on a lightning fast 'leave it' command, and observing him closely around other dogs. If he's getting uncomfortable, then re direct him into focusing on something else, don't wait for him to begin to mount.

 

Don't overwork him. Everyone has a limit to how much stress they can take and still learn. If he's overwhelmed with new dogs, new places, then he's not able to learn any new behaviors. Perhaps back off on the exposure to new situations for a week or two, and see if the marking/mounting lessens. If so, you'll want to tone things down a bit in terms of how much you put him into new, stressful situations.

 

As far as the seeking dominance idea, I don't find it that helpful to be thinking in all over terms. It works better for me to think of what I want the dog to do or not to do, and train for that specifically.

 

Good luck,

 

Ruth n the BC3

[Barb Scott]

Mary writes:

...Honestly, I've never seen this as a big problem.

 

Marking in agility is a major and expensive problem. The dog will be eliminated for eliminating in the ring. Plus, he will be extremely unpopular for marking equipment during classes.

Barb S

[vanillalove]

My guy was neutered young and he still marks. I just don't want to be stopped every 2 seconds on my walk because of some pole or bush he needs to cover, so he gets a "Aht, aht! Come on." He knows now when and where he can mark, sometimes the urge of a "new" dog in the neighbourhood is too much for him to listen to me, though. Grr..

 

I too don't see it as much of a problem, but it is inappropriate for the agility ring. Continue to allow him to relieve himself in your yard, and praise! and then correct him for marking during your walks or elsewhere. He should pick it up quickly.