Dog can't stop marking

[bdehlin]

Hello again everyone,
My fiance and I adopted an ex-racing greyhound about 4-5 months ago and he was great at first. About two weeks later he started peeing all over the house marking his territory. He marks everything including dishwasher, leather sofa, kitchen chair, and the recliners. We clean absolutely everything with the Petzyne so that even he can't smell it. This seemed to work for roughly a month, but now he's back at it again. My fiance and I are going crazy to the point where I joke about peeing on his head one day in the hopes that it will stop his marking. If anyone can offer any advice that would be great.

Thanks everyone

[ErikH]

Not sure, I've only owned female dogs, but is he neutered? For some reason I thought neutered males weren't as apt to mark their territory.

[Jeanne]

If he is not nuetered, think about getting him neutered. It MAY stop this. However, dont count on it. It does not always stop the marking. I would also consider talking to the organization you adopted him from and see what they say.

[bdehlin]

I forgot to mention that he is in fact neutered. It is mandatory that all race dogs be neutered or spade.

[reptile-girl]

my dog is neutered but he still marks his territory when we go on walks.

[tigerlily]

If you can neuter/spay an animal before it's hormones kick in, then you can usually avoid marking. Unfortunately once it's a learned behavoir it's much more tricky to stop it. Does he do it in front of you or while you are away? You may want to consider crating until you can get it under control.

[JLC]

Could it be a stress-induced issue? Maybe he really misses racing? Working dogs LOVE to "work" and a highly trained dog may get bored out of its mind if it gets retired and turned into a house pet.


Are there any parks or something nearby where you can take him out and let him really stretch out and run his little heart out?

[bdehlin]

We place the two dogs outside while my fiance and I are at class or at work. Problem is they come inside when we are home and they stay in with us the rest of the night because they sleep in our room. We still give them reign of the house since we have a dog door, and would rather not have to clean up a mess in our room. So as far as we can figure out he marks the downstairs while we are sleeping then comes back upstairs as if nothing has happened. As far as the "missing work" idea is considered....Greyhounds are the laziest dogs on the planet. We take him for a walk or a bike ride and he will pretty much pass out all day long on his bed. Greyhounds are notorious as being "40 mph couch potaotes", so we don't really think it is him missing his old job.

[frankykeno]

Hmm you mentioned two dogs...that might be the problem. How do the dogs get along? Are they the same sex or different sexes? Was the other dog there before the adopted greyhound arrived or did it arrive afterwards? How old are both dogs?

It could be the new dog trying to establish his place in this new pack he perceives he's joined, or trying to move up in status in that pack. Which dog seems the more dominant to you? Do either dogs act dominant to the humans in the house (pushing past you to get outside, humping you or the other dog, guarding food)?