Help! Adopted dog won't stop marking the house!

Hi, 

I saw your response to a person who wrote in about their dog that continues to mark. I'm hoping you can help. We adopted a 6 year old silky terrier about 9 months ago. He had spent his entire life before us outside chained to a dog house. He was malnourished and had flea dermatitis. He was also heart worm positive so we had to wait to have him neutered. He was neutered 3 1/2 months ago. He has marked in our house when given the opportunity since the day we got him 9 months ago. The only time he doesn't mark is in his kennel and when he's tethered on a 5 foot lead to our table or in our living room. 

We've had a trainer come to the house and her suggestion was that we have to catch him in the act to deter him from marking. She really didn't have much success with him at all the day she came to our house. She couldn't get him to sit or do any other more basic command. We spent a lot if time with the come command which she felt he wasn't responding to like he should have. It was a disappointing experience. The dog is nearly impossible to catch marking. I've followed him around the house for hours. He won't mark. The minute he can get out of sight he marks. As a result he spends his entire time out of his kennel tethered. I'm sad he has to exist this way but we've tried increasing the length of the lead and as soon as he can get out of sight and mark, he will. We have 4 children so having our eyes and attention on the dog all the time is unrealistic. Quite frankly this dog is requiring more attention and mind share than the kids. We do have 2 other dogs and it's not clear who is dominant, but it's likely the silky. 

I'm looking for suggestions and ideas. I'm also wondering if there are dogs out there that spend their life tethered in a home. He's always in the room with us. He gets lots of attention from the kids, dogs, and us. We walk him 30 min a day. He's well fed and loved. He just spends his time tethered since that's the only time he won't mark. He does wear a belly band but that's not fool proof and feeling wet seems to not phase him at all. I know it's a lot to try and change 6 years of learned bad behaviors. I'm just frustrated because we've been hard core with the house breaking since he was neutered and we've seen minimal improvement. We tried the house breaking before that too but he was crated a lot due to heartworm treatment and we had hoped the neutering would help so we weren't as vigilant as we've been the last 3 1/2 months. 

How long do we try to break him if this habit? Is this a process that will take years? At what point do we throw in the towel? We love him dearly and don't plan to give him up. We've committed to him. I just hate to think we've committed to having him tethered to our table the rest of his life. Your suggestions are appreciated. 

Best,
Meghan 

 
Hi there.
Thanks for adopting this little hard-case and thank you for not giving up on him.  You do not need to throw in the towel. We can fix this.

First - is there any possibility that this is a medical issue?  I.E., could he possible have a chronic bladder infection, or stones?  These types of conditions will make him feel as though he needs to urinate all the time.  If you haven't ruled out a veterinary problem - it might be worth looking into.

I assume you don't punish him for urinating in the house...right?  That never works.

Use a strong enzymatic cleaner on all areas where he has urinated.  Even if it smells clean to you, he may still detect that that was an area where he has peed before and he will want to "recharge" the spot.  Most pet supply stores and some veterinary clinics have excellent enzymatic urine eliminating products.  Ask the store manager or your veterinarian for their recommendations on the best product.

Also, if your pet sleeps in your bed with you, this will need to stop right away.  He'll need to sleep in a crate with a comfy bed at the foot of your bed.  The reason for this is he needs to know that you (and everyone else in your family) are the pack leaders.  A dog that understands he is not the alpha will not feel the need to mark.

BUT - while you are teaching him this lesson, I urge you to try this:
One of the absolute BEST products to use for dogs that mark are Belly Bands.  You can either purchase disposable or washable varieties and they come in all sizes.  They are like diapers and they wrap around your dog's abdomen, covering up his little fire hose!  Dogs HATE to feel wet, so if he urinates, it will go into the material of the belly band and not your furniture or flooring.  

You simply throw away the soiled belly bands, or wash them.  They come in many colors and are very comfortable for dogs to wear. Your dog will learn very quickly that when he "marks," he is only getting himself wet and nothing else.  It won't take long before he stops marking completely.  You can experiment a little after three or four weeks of using the product by letting him go without for a while.  Gradually increase the time he goes without and give him lots of toys and praise for behaving well.  Also, be sure to let him be "naked" when he's on walks or in the yard. But in the house, put them right back on until you feel confident that the habit has been broken.

Good luck and let me know how it works out!
I am going to feature this on my radioshow at www.blogtalkradio.com/petplace
Thanks for writing in.
All the best,
Marie