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Small Children & Pets
Dog Dominance
Marking Behavior
(Dogs & Cats)
We're Moving!
Litter Box Problems
Avoiding Cat/Cat Aggression
Introducing a New Dog to Your Dog
Dealing with Separation Anxiety
Housebreaking the Adult Dog
Destructive Scratching
Cleaning Soiled Areas
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territorial marking--cats & dogs |
Both dogs & cats are territorial animals, staking out their claim to a particular object or place. They communicate this “claim” in a variety of ways. Some pets may go to the extreme of urinating to mark a particular area as theirs. Urine-marking is not a housebreaking problem, but is a territorial behavior. Thus to resolve the problem, the underlying reason for the pet’s need to mark its territory must be addressed.
Housebreaking or Marking Issue?
The pet may be territorial marking if:
- The problem is primarily urine (cats and dogs RARELY mark with feces).
- The amount of urine is small and is found on vertical surfaces. (Dogs and cats may sometimes mark on horizontal surfaces, but this is less common.)
- The pet urinates on new items in the home (i.e., a shopping bag, a visitor’s shoes).
- There is conflict in your home among the pet and another pet. When there is an instability in the pack hierarchy, a dog may feel the need to establish his dominance by urine-marking his territory. If one cat is intimidating another cat, the bullied cat may express her anxiety by urine-marking.
What You Can Do
- Spaying or neutering an unaltered pet often stops the urine-marking within a matter of weeks.
- Resolve conflicts with other pets in your home. (SEE “Cat/Cat Aggression” and “Dog/Dog Aggression”)
- Clean soiled areas thoroughly with one of the commercially available biological stain and odor removers.
- Make the previously soiled areas inaccessible or try to change the significance of those areas (ie., feed, treat, and play with the pet in the areas where he is inclined to mark.)
- Dogs: watch your dog at all times when he is indoors for signs that he is thinking about urinating. When he begins to urinate, interrupt him with a loud noise and take him outside, then praise him and give him a treat if he urinates outside. When you’re unable to watch him, put your dog in confinement (a crate or small room where he has never marked) or tether him to you with a leash.
- Cats: try to monitor your cat’s movements. If he even sniffs in an area he has previously marked, make a loud noise or squirt him with water. It's best if you can do this without him seeing you, because then he’ll associate the unpleasantness with his intent to mark, rather than with you.
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