My 15 month old boy has started marking just about anything he can lift his leg near. There have been no changes in the house, but this behavior seems to be getting worse. I read an article about shaking a can with coins when I catch him in the act. Has anyone had success with this or any other suggestions . This article states that a dog should not sleep in your bed because it'll will create a dominance issue which could lead to marking in the house , is that true?

The can will help if you catch him in the act. Make sure that were he marks that you clean it with vinegar that takes the smell out so he might not go back there. I'm not sure on the sleeping on the bed, I have had some that have and they didn't start marking in the house. It could be a age thing and it is good to get it corrected now.

Granted our boy isn't a Labrador but a 12 month old Schnauzer. He normally sleeps in our bed with us, with our little Dachshund. A week ago I left him in a cushy crate to sleep beside his friend Betty for the night. The next morning and throughout the morning, the little bugger marked on my foot and in one of the dog's yogurt dish and on top of our dachshund's head when they were outside.

I was ready to ring his neck at this point but I knew there had to be a reason why he would all of a sudden start marking in appropriately. It didn't take me long to figure out that he was punishing me or was upset for making him sleep downstairs in a spare crate. Who knows what he was thinking but he has been fine since we got back to our routine of him sleeping in our room. The odd thing is that he likes to go in the spare crate while we watch a video at night but I had shut the door on him that one night since I didn't want to disturb him.

A few weeks ago he did start to pick up this bad marking habit aimed at our ceramic pots on the front porch so now when I go outside in the front yard so he can do a quick potty run, I make sure he heads out to the lawn and if he even looks like he is going to mark on anything inappropriate, I make a ear catching noise and he stops in his tracks.

You can teach a dog not to mark in the house and outside such as on car tires or the side of your house and other areas not meant for dog pee. It's a matter of being consistant when he goes outside and catching him in the act every time. When my boy starts to mark, I make that aweful noise to get his attention then I pull him away and take him to the correct area to pee. Sometimes I think the boy dogs get in the bad habit of marking on everything in site when they are young then it just stays with them if his owner allows him to get by with it.

I took in a foster dog for a few months. This boy was 9 yrs old and had never been a house dog until he came to live with us. The only time he marked in our house was when he came back from the vet. He did this out of anxiousness but he learned to only mark outside in the grassy area.

I taught a young 14 month old how to not mark anything while he was in for training this summer. Originally, he marked anything he got near, including toys, a basketball hoop base, no place other dogs had marked either.

In the house (he wasn't a house dog before he came in, so I wasn't trusting him - he was a puppy that needed to be watched constantly until I could trust him), he marked 3 times - he got scruffed and a stern "No" and taken outside to relieve himself. I did it 3 times, and that was that - he didn't do it again.

On walks, I hate dogs marking, I will allow them to relieve themselves, but not mark on everything in our wake. He got to pee once when leaving our house and upon our return. He first started sniffing to mark on grasses, signs, trees, and he would get a collar correction, a "no" and a "let's go" command to continue walking. He was able to walk quite a long time on grassy areas without marking once by the end of the 1st week. Now, he did try a few times to mark later, but he got the same correction and he continued on his merry way.

I train with A LOT of positive reinforcement...but marking inside or when I haven't given permission (ok - go potty), is a big NO NO!!

Good Luck!

EA

They sell "No Mark" pants at In The Company Of Dogs! I used them on my boy and they really worked...he never marks anymore.