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spraying/males dogs

jennapea

Well-known member
We are going to be getting a male ruby in a couple months. My breeder claims he shouldn't spray, as male Cavaliers usually only do this when there is a female in heat and there are other dogs around. (My Isabelle will be spayed by the time he joins the family). Other people are telling me WATCH OUT getting a male, as they will mark their territory all over my house. What have the experiences been of male owners until they are old enough to get neutered. (My vet won't do it until 6 months).
Thank you!
 
Once my male was housebroken - I did not have any problems with marking... he is intact.

If you do not plan to bred - having him neutered is good as he will not be so inclined to wander if a girl in the neighborhood is in season.
 
I have a 2 year old male and he has never ever marked inside our home
although we did go to a playdate a while back where 2 other cavaliers
lived and he kindly marked as soon as he entered their home.

But never in ours, I was told that this is normal behaviour for any dog
entering another dogs home.
 
Linda said:
I have a 2 year old male and he has never ever marked inside our home
although we did go to a playdate a while back where 2 other cavaliers
lived and he kindly marked as soon as he entered their home.

But never in ours, I was told that this is normal behaviour for any dog
entering another dogs home.

I wonder if by him coming into a home with another dog, meaning my Isabelle, he will start marking like your dog did at someone else's home.
 
[/quote]

I wonder if by him coming into a home with another dog, meaning my Isabelle, he will start marking like your dog did at someone else's home.[/quote]

I have 2 males, one neutered and one entire, NEITHER mark in my house and they live with 4 girls.
The entire dog, Chad, has never lifted his leg in a house. I take him to a lot of peoples houses and he has never ever lifted his leg inside.
The older dog took me a while to housetrain and I had him neutered at about 9 months. From that day he never once lifted his leg inside. BOTH boys are totally trustworthy in my home.
How old will your new boy be when he comes? A pup or an adult?

Michelle
 
Well, your breeder seems a little misinformed... :lol: or maybe has not experienced a wider range of behaviour with dogs other than her own well behaved boys. 8)

I work with a lot of rescue dogs and intact males very often spray when brought to a house they don't know (neutered males sometimes do as well though this is far less common). Usually this stops after a couple of days, once they see at as 'their' territory too. Intact males will often mark if there are other males around, neutered or not. And I just homed Benjy, the male ruby rescue, who arrived in a home that had no dog currently and marked the kitchen doorframe a few times. :oops:

I don't think I have never had a male rescue in my house, neutered or unneutered, who *didn't* try lifting his leg at least once -- hence I try to keep them well managed at all times and take up the rug for the time I have any rescues inside. My neutered male Leo will mark sometimes when he goes to TKC's mum's (who runs a home boarding business). Jaspar never has marked inside anywhere, ever, before or after neutering but Leo definitely has.

I think much depends on the individual dog, whether it has been trained not to mark, whether it often visits other people's houses or is really only used to its own, etc. Then hormones play a role too -- whether they scent other dogs and feel a need to make a statement to them. :roll:
 
karlin said:
I think much depends on the individual dog, whether it has been trained not to mark, whether it often visits other people's houses or is really only used to its own, etc. Then hormones play a role too -- whether they scent other dogs and feel a need to make a statement to them. :roll:


Dudley has been at our neighbors house who has a female mixed breed,
he has never marked their.
He has been to the home where he marked only twice and marked both times but I truly believe he was overwhelmed with all the commotion. Like I said he has never done it in our own home, and he really isn't exposed to alot of other homes with dogs.
I also checked this out with my breeder for fear of the same thing when
we get another puppy, she said it is completely normal for him to
do this and just to discourage it. The owners of the other two Cavaliers
encountered the same thing when they took their cavalier to another home, they just recently brought home another male puppy and nothing
happened neither dog is marking.
I think it is a dominance thing and Karlin is absolutely right they are making a statement. icon_yikes icon_yikes icon_yikes
 
jennapea said:
I wonder if by him coming into a home with another dog, meaning my Isabelle, he will start marking like your dog did at someone else's home.

I think it also makes a difference, you are bringing a puppy into your
home.
Remember Dudley has never ever marked inside our home, even when
other dogs come to our home it is when we took him to another
home I guess he felt the need to be dominant.
Dudley is also extremely territorial, I am not sure if that makes any
difference, but he goes ballistic if anything comes into our backyard.

I have taken him to friends whom have no dogs and he does nothing.
 
I have never ever had a problem with Maxx marking, either here or in anyone elses home - we've got loads of friends with dogs and used to take him regularly to visit.

Charlie, on the other hand was very insecure when we got him and he has twice marked on my bed :x :roll: & also a few times on the rug by the patio door - he marked Maxx's bed once too :? - and there was me wondering why Maxx wouldn't go in it :lol: I have taken him to visit other doggie households and he's been fine and was also fine when we went to visit my Mum - he found the back door within seconds and was in and out all day long.

I think it's just something to be expected for a few days when you get a new dog. They soon get out of it if you discourage them & whilst the duvet incidents annoyed me as I had to struggle to the launderette with a king sized duvet in the freezing cold & sit there for an hour and a half each time whilst it washed and dried :roll: :roll: :roll: , the mat incidents didn't as I have one that is a 'laundamat' and just goes in the washing machine and the other I just used some 1001 cleaning stuff on it then neutralised the smell with some bicarbonate of soda solution.
 
They seem to only mark the bed, or have pee'd on the wee mats when we have bought the new ones home, I think it is the smell on the coat for the first few weeks and also to make sure the pecking order....... when we go for walks Busta and Woodys wee over each others wee a few times (and sometimes Woody gets wee'd on when he sticks his head under Bustas leg).
 
csprice said:
They seem to only mark the bed, or have pee'd on the wee mats when we have bought the new ones home, I think it is the smell on the coat for the first few weeks and also to make sure the pecking order....... when we go for walks Busta and Woodys wee over each others wee a few times (and sometimes Woody gets wee'd on when he sticks his head under Bustas leg).

Hahaha. I'm always having to wash Charlie where he's put his head or his leg right where Maxx is marking :lol: They are such intelligent dogs but don't they do some daft things ? :lol:
 
Sam used to mark everwhere, and the smell from it was awful. He never used to mark in the house until we took in an intact male foster who lifted his leg on the side of the sofa.

Since he's been neutered, he's great and doesn't have to stop at every tree and lamp post anymore. He hasn't done it in the house at all since and only marks his own little spot in the back yard.
 
Worth adding I think that though I've noted all male rescues in my memory have tried marking in the house at least once, that these are obviously dogs coming from anxety-producing situations. Either from the pound, or after a long transport with someone they don't know, or have been found roaming. So they'd all come with a certain degree of uncertainty into a new house, which probably encourages them to mark.

I've taken Leo and Jaspar loads of places as well where they don't ever mark inside, including with other neutered or unneutered dogs.

But to go back to the beginning, I'd strongly disagree that marking is something only males do in the presence of a bitch in heat, with other dogs around. That's just one of many types of circumstance that might encourage some males to mark. I've never had a bitch in heat anywhere near my house but it has nonetheless been annointed quite a few times. 8)
 
:lol: The you have no worries. Males don't mark til they begin to hit sexual development at 6-8 months.
 
karlin said:
:lol: The you have no worries. Males don't mark til they begin to hit sexual development at 6-8 months.

Oh wow! Didn't know that! Well he will be neutered at 6 months, so no worries. Thank you!!!! :D
 
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