Is it possible to train my dog to stop marking?

Question

I'm at the end of my rope with my dog right now. He just will not stop marking his territory in the house!

We used to live in a high rise apartment with unreliable elevators so he had been litter trained (though he did have the occasional accident). About 6 months ago we moved into a house with a yard and immediately began training him to do his business outside.

We were very diligent with him, made sure he was always supervised, and within about a month he knew to stand at the door when he had to go.

However, we've had SERIOUS problems with him marking everywhere in our house! It started when we moved to the new house, but at first we chalked it up to him being in a new place with a lot of new furniture. We figured that with training he would stop after awhile but he really hasn't. He's still supervised a good chunk of the time (we don't let him have full run of the house, we use gates to keep him either in a specific room with us or on a specific floor), and any messes he makes are immediately and thouroughly cleaned with Nature's Miracle.

I've caught him in the act multiple times, and when I do I'll shout "NO" at him and try to make noise like banging on a table to distract him. Most of the time he just carries on with what he's doing then walks away sheepishly.

We got him a belly band, but he hates it. He still wears it a lot, but he spends all of his time in it either wriggling around on the floor trying to get it off or l*****g it until it's completely soaked and we need to take it off and wash it. He does tend try to mark less while wearing it but I'm not sure if it's just because he's so distracted!

We seemed to be making progress, he'd been wearing the band and we'd been supervising him for weeks without him trying to mark more than once or twice, so we tried him for awhile without the belly band. He was really good for about a week, really not making attempts to mark and I thought I'd broken him of the habit but suddenly he's marking all over the place again, worse than he was before, this has been going on for almost a month now!

Nothing has changed in our house, his routine hasn't been disturbed, I can't see any reason for him to be stressed. So I really don't know what to do with him (before you ask, no, I won't get rid of him if he doesn't stop marking - I'd just like to make my life with him a bit more pleasant!).

He is a 4 year old pug/boston terrier mix. He is neutered (we had it done when he was about 7 mos old), up to date on shots, and received a clean bill of health from the vet no more than a month ago. He is crate trained and never messes his crate even if he ends up in there longer than usual.

Is it even possible to ever break him of this habit (I've read some books that say it's not)? I feel like I've tried everything. And I don't want him to be forced to wear the belly band all the time. What should I do?

Answer 1

You may have to crate train him again. Also be sure to clean up where he has soiled earlier, so there is no smell left. He smells where he went before and will go there again. That is a tough one!  

Answer 2

Get your dog obedience trained ... this should have been done at 6 months but it's not too late just a little harder .

This is the way to stop him from marking inside .

Answer 3

Firstly, this is not a toilet training issue, and the techniques used for toilet training will not work.   Marking is a territorial behaviour, and can be very hard to prevent, but it should be possible.  

Cleaning up any marking is a good start, as dogs will tend to mark in the same spots.  You will probably find that there are lots of spots that you have missed, however, and your dog can still smell them!  I would start by cleaning all of the carpet, and then think about getting a black light to find any new spots (any invisible stains will glow in the dark).  

The other thing to do is increase the training you do with your dog - don't focus on trying to stop him marking, but spend time on general training.  This includes making him sit and wait before meals, waiting for you to go through doorways first, and generally just learning to follow your lead in everything.  The reason for this is that marking is most common in dominant dogs - he needs to learn that you are the top dog, and he will then feel that marking territory is not his job.  

Answer 4

There are several reasons for marking in the house.  I would start with the potty training, and stay diligent there.  If you are firm enough, your dog will know that under no circumstance can they potty or mark in the house.  Stress is a cause.  he could smell another dog past or present.  He could be marking as a way to gain rank in the pack.  It could be the size of his bladder.  Since the belly band isn't working, you might consider a diaper.  You would think if he peed on himself, he would stop.  For odor, you might try Natures miracle, sold at pet smart. Odor mute, sold at feed stores, and dog.com.  Out sold at walmart. or Equalizer, not sure where that is sold.  He is probably confused since he was originally trained to go potty in the house with the litter box, so you are going to have to make sure he understands that he can't potty in this house under any circumstance.  The only thing I can think of is that maybe you should steam clean you furniture, maybe that would help. It seems like you are doing everything right, It might just take more time, since he is an older dog.

Answer 5

You might want to consult with a dog behaviorist on this issue.  

Also, doggy diapers which are a lot less money than going to a behaviorist might help too.  One of my dogs had a marking problem and so I used doggy diapers on him.  When I went to change his diapers I noticed most of the time he would not pee in them.  About a month later he stopped marking and no longer needed doggy diapers.