Marking Inside? Reward Your Dog To Housetraining Success

You've recently adopted a dog, or your dog who you've had for quite some time has discovered the fascination with leaving p-mail around your home.  Contrary to some popular belief, marking is not exclusively a male dog activity, nor is it an intact male dog activity.   Regardless, it's important to positively teach dogs to mark outside only:

1) Always monitor your dog around your home. Confine him or her into whichever room you are in, and keep an eye on him while you both are together.  If you are moving about, tethering can often be a helpful tool.  Crating is one of the ultimate house training assistants, as a crate provides security and house training enhancement.  Often, breaks in house training occur when the dog is unobserved - a dog out of sight is a dog who could be giving signals that are going unanswered. 

2) To add to that, closely observe his or her marking behaviors when outside. Is he or she a double-turner? A persistent sniffer? Does he or she get a certain spring in their gait when preparing to mark? Keeping video logs that you can playback and take notes from are excellent for learning your dog's body language when he or she is going to mark. Then, you can redirect him or her when they start showing those signals around the home. When you see him or her start their "signature move", redirect him or her verbally and then take them outside. 

3) When he or she is outside, reward them for marking! While this may sound counterproductive on the outset, it's teaching them that marking outside is MUCH more desirable than marking inside. Dogs like to be rewarded, they like to be paid. If he or she is making big bucks marking outside, and NONE inside? All of a sudden marking indoors gets less and less rewarding. 

4) Emphasis on catching sniffing is a big thing when I'm coaching house training. Dogs can smell the floor/couch just fine from a standing position, and as he or she gets used to the smells around your home, there isn't a need for excessive sniffing. If at any point you see him or her really getting into a smell, it's likely that they're deciding if they want to leave a p-mail. Redirect him or her appropriately with food or toys, to help distract them from leaving their thoughts behind.

5) Accidents and marking need to be cleaned up with an enzymatic cleaner. Nature's Miracle, Simple Solution, and Rocco & Roxie are three popular brands, and this step is crucial to promote success in house training. Without enzymatic cleaning, your dog will be able to easily remember where he or she left their last message - and, they may want to produce an addendum. 

6) Keep him or her on a clear schedule, taking the opportunity to notice when they have big drinks of water. He or she will likely need to go out soon after.

7) It's worth experimenting with adding a DAP diffuser to your home. Excessive marking can frequently be a sign of anxiety, and a DAP diffuser can aid in stress relief.

​These seven tips can greatly assist with the house training process, and aid in eliminating marking from you dog.  Happy house training!