Marking his territory

[Manny]

I have a little problem on my hands. My cavalier is about 9 months old now. I have been bragging to my friends of how well potty trained he is in my house. He hasn't had an accident in over 3 months, however, I took him to my grandma's house and he urinated on her couch. After he urinated, he jumped down and scratched his feet on the carpet as if he was marking his territory. I was so embarrassed of this that I didn't even tell my grandma, and I went and cleaned it up quickly. Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can correct this problem? I am now scared to take him to anyone else's house. Thank yall.

[Holly]

Is Manny neutered? From what I've read, there is a lot of research stating that it's a good thing to wait til a year before neutering, but he is getting close. Neutering may help. If you are concerned when going to people's homes, you could get him a belly band:

http://www.bellybands.net/

I like belly bands that are made of terry cloth or other thick material with padding. This is a short-term solution for visiting! I never leave a belly band on long-term if I'm not around to supervise. I have a Cavalier that I co-own and show who isn't neutered and he will occasionally mark in a new environment so I use a belly band on him.

[Mindysmom]

What I found with Max (and I think Karlin has referenced this in training articles) is that they have to be trained for each new place they go (and each room in the house when they are little). Even though he had been well trained for several months at home when we took him to my son's new student house he immediately urinated on his housemate's carpet. We had just made a long drive and I was excited to see the house and didn't take enough time to show him the appropriate place to potty. This happened when he was nearly a year and he had been neutered at six months. I'd just make sure that you show Manny where the appropriate place to do his business is.

[sunshinekisses]

Neutering will help his marking behavior but also, as been stated, you must train him at other homes too. It is very common for that age to begin marking and it is very common behavior to mark in a new place. So I wouldn't worry he is being naughty, he is just doing what is natural to him. Keep him on a leash and let him explore with you so you can correct him if he lifts his leg.

[Justine]

Hi,we see alot of this,esp. in the kennels,and esp.when ther are females in the kennels too.Often the boys will go into the kennels and cock his leg,that does include nautered males too.Female dogs do the same,they will pee over another girls urine.What i do with Archie,becos we dont take him to other houses,i keep him on the lead,close to me,until he settles,then i jusr watch him for any signs,he has been done though,but he would still do it over in the kennels,i dont think they really ever stop marking.