How do I clean up after and change the behavior of a dog who is marking?

My 5-year-old beagle/basset has taken to marking two places in our house. We adopted him four months ago from the SPCA, he is neutered, housebroken, and is not otherwise agressive. There are no other pets in the house.



I thought this might be separation anxiety, but he just did it this morning while we were sitting in the living room!



What can I use to keep him off these spots? Our apartment has white carpet, and our dog's pee is very yellow. Is there anything that will work to clean the stains? I've tried white vinegar, and Resolve pet-stain remover, and neither worked.How do I clean up after and change the behavior of a dog who is marking?
you can try something like Nature's Miracle (protein based enzymatic cleaner) but you must soak the area thoroughly and you may need to re-apply. this will help eliminate the odor as well as the stain, so that the dog doesn't keep thinking it's ok to go there. is he just marking (i.e. just a little squirt?) or is he relieving himself completely? if he's really just marking, try to catch him and interrupt him before he starts. if he's relieving himself, you will need to start over with housetraining. if he's marking, try using NILIF (nothing in life is free) to establish your leadership role with him.

i have included links for all of these. best wishes. and thanks so much for adopting.How do I clean up after and change the behavior of a dog who is marking?
Go to a pet store and look for a cleaner that says 'enzyme' on the bottle, you have to use that or the smell will linger and the dog will keep peeing there, if it doesn't completely remove the stain you might need to get a professional to clean your carpet or rent one of those carpet cleaner machinesHow do I clean up after and change the behavior of a dog who is marking?
Try the %26quot;3 Minute%26quot; stuff or the %26quot;Get Serious%26quot; - both sold at Petsmart. Worked great for us. Put down some of those puppy-wee pads in the spots to help prevent stains. Keep your eyes on the little guy! He's still new to your home, if you see him *approaching* those areas he's marking, tell him NO! and re-route him immediately outside. Praise him when he marks outside - every time he marks outside.How do I clean up after and change the behavior of a dog who is marking?
everyone offered good suggestions for cleaning the mess.



Here's another thing you can do to help.. invest in some belly bands. When he does mark, it will not end up on your furniture or carpet. It will help keep the odors and mess away until you can get him trained to stop.



you can find belly bands on ebay, and thru Drs Fosters and smith. Many rescues sell them to make extra money for the rescue.



Is there any way you can block off the areas he wants to mark?How do I clean up after and change the behavior of a dog who is marking?
Just because he's housetrained doesn't mean he can exactly TELL you when he needs to potty. You have to anticipate that. Dogs need to be on a predictable pee schedule both for your own sanity and for their well being. For instance, do you leave the water bowl out where he can drink any time? Understand that YOU control what goes into your pet. Also, remember to take him out about 30 minutes after giving him food or water....that's when he'll need to go. It sounds like he's not as house trained as you thought. My male dog did the same thing when I first got him from a rescue group. It was because 1) he wasn't house trained, and 2) he was in a new place with new smells and nothing smelled like HIM so he wanted to put his scent on things.....usually my clothes if they were laying in the floor!!! :) I understand your frustration! I bought 2 things at the pet store that saved me. 1 was spray that mimicks their own hormones that are in the urine....spray this where the dog IS allowed to pee. And I got puppy pads and put newspaper on top of them and then placed them by the door where he could get to it. Then I sprayed that stuff on top which told his sniffer %26quot;oh here's where I can go pee!%26quot; The next thing is to introduce it to him and then praise him like crazy when he successfully pees on the pad instead of on your carpet!! While this shouldn't be a permanent thing, at least then he'll have a CHOICE as to where to pee if he has to inside.....and it will save your carpets.