Vizslas and Marking

Bailey and Chloe both "mark" or "over-mark" with their urine.  Bailey being an intact male more so than Chloe, who is a neutered female.

I find this a very interesting subject as I do a lot of walking with both.  In the hills, on busy city streets, on quiet roads, we walk and they both "mark" certain things along the way.


My response to a post yesterday on "Marking" that came up on Hungarian Vizsla Forum


 http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,2774.msg18406.html#msg18406

  Marking.  Interesting subject as I watch Bailey, now 3, mark or over-mark (where other dogs have urinated) on all the walks we take.


A few things I picked up from reading Cesar Milan.

A male dog will try and mark HIGHER than the last dog that had marked that spot. The higher the better. When we walk, by ourselves, and nature calls, I mark very high on the trunk of a tree. I am the big dog after all.
Whenever Chloe relieves herself, Bailey HAS to over-mark on or near that spot. Yesterday off-leash walk, she squatted while he was 100 yards ahead. He turned his head, saw it and raced back to mark HIS SPOT.


I swearer the boy has a 2 gallon reserve tank hidden somewhere on his body. 
Not as many truck wheels and tires or people's pant legs have received his scent coding as when he was around 2 years old. He thankfully, seems to have gotten past that stage. 

He marks objects that other males have marked now. I don't control it except on walks downtown. He'd pee on every downtown street tree if he could. I limit it to one per block.


Nature of the beast (or high-powered intact hunting dog to be exact).


RBD

Full article can be found by the below link:

PAW rescue article on Marking

1. Overview

Dogs gather essential social information using their sense of smell, whether smelling other dogs directly or sniffing their urine and feces. That's why dogs urinate much more than required to simply empty their bladder.

Marking serves as a way to claim territory, advertise mating availability and to support the social order. Dogs like hierarchy; it's what they understand. They communicate age, gender and status within their packs via the pheromones in urine. Both male and female animals can engage in marking behavior.

A dog uses urine marking to help make a new environment smell like home, masking the unfamiliar odors with his own scent. Humans also engage in marking behavior, though it usually takes such forms as moving in a favorite chair and hanging pictures on the wall.

In addition, marking functions as an efficient way to protect a dog's perceived space than physically challenging each interloper who approaches that space.

Animals also mark to advertise their sexual availability, which is one reason why it helps to neuter and spay dogs. The earlier, the better, since early neutering can keep young dogs from ever developing the impulse to mark.  (RBD note:  Not a good enough reason to alter a "whole" dog.  The negative physical aspects are of greater importance. See: rethinking-spay-neuter-in-2011.html )

Urinating in the house and other inappropriate areas can also be a sign of urinary tract disease, so take your dog to the vet before ruling out this possibility.

Urinating in the house can also stem from lack of house training or lack of an appropriate place to urinate, or having to hold it longer than the dog can physically wait. Consider having someone visit your dog for a mid-day walk if you work long hours.