Is scent marking in public OK?

Question

I have a neutered 3 year old 40lb American Eskimo mix. With people he's shy but he is very outgoing with dogs. He is well socialized and well mannered with other dogs and typically greets with a nose sniffs, he is ok with stranger dogs jumping up on him in an attempt at playing but will usually just ignore them when they act that way. This guy is the greeting party for my fosters and typically claims dominant position with new comers to the house. He also regularly goes to class with me and we use him to socialize all the dogs in class including desensitization exercises with unstable aggressive dogs.

Now to my question, this guy is weird, he loves meeting all the dogs he can but whenever he is around tons of dogs he scent marks/ kicks his feet without peeing. He does this almost constantly between sniffs, he maintains his politeness and does not demonstrate other dominant behaviors and maintains a relaxed mid level tail wag. He mostly only does this when it's class time or there are a bunch of other dogs around or after he goes to the bathroom.

Is this behavior OK or should I discourage the kicking?

Answer 1

It's fine.Why would you want to discourage something which is A) natural and B) perfectly harmless?

All dogs have their individualities and any such behaviour which isn't aggressive or anti social is just him being himself

Answer 2

its normal but yes its annoying and to others. just yank his lease and say no just verbally correct him.

Answer 3

NO!!!!!!!!! this is telling your dog that this is his territory and it will lead him to escape the yard. i never let my dog do any of these behaviours and he stood 2 inches short of the fence and he was a boxer he could easerly get over but he never did. my sister lets her dog do it all the time and guess what her dog escapes out a 6 foot high fence all the time.

if you drive him to a dog park thats fine but never walk as he will know how to get there and will escape.

Answer 4

I loved your question!

My boy does the same thing.

I read a book just recently called "Your dog is watching you" and towards the end they talk a bit about why dogs do that when they meet.

For some it is about marking their territory, they may be saying hey, I like you but this turf is still mine!

Apparently they let off scent from the souls of their feet also and the scuffing is scent marking too.

Also he who pee's the highest has a higher position. Thats why a dog will try and pee as high as they can. They will pee on top of each other to see who gets it highest and they try to be the last one to pee in that spot.

I find it all so intersting and I too find the scuffing funny, I cant help it.

My boy is very confident so when he scuffs the chest is out, head and tail up and then he springs off when he is finished. Man he has dug up entire gardens!!!

Anyway I stop him when Im walking through town with him, In the bush he can do what he likes.

Take care.

Answer 5

From the information you have given it sounds like your fellow is a confident dog who enjoys his elevated dominance status. In other words he does not feel the need to aggressively push his dominance onto other dogs, this is usually the behaviour of dogs who are less confident in their pack position. A truely alpha dog does not need to push his/her dominance on other dogs, they know from his/her subtle body language and confident carriage.

The marking and kicking is likely the way he informs the other dogs of his dominance in the group. He is using this more subtle behaviour rather than the more overt behaviour of a less confident dog who is trying to establish his place in the pack. A less confident dog may bully or act aggressively towards other dogs, may have a stiff stance, high tail and generally be more "high" around other dogs.

Without seeing your boy in action it is hard to give a full answer, but i'd say this behaviour is harmless and perhaps beneficial to his calm dominance around other dogs. Of course, you could train your boy not to do this but unless you find it a problem i'd let him be.

By the way, it is refreshing to see a question on here from someone who obviously has some understanding of dog behaviour and training, and not about accidental breeding or toilet training :)