Golden Retriever

Question
Hi.  I have a 3 year old golden retriever.  He is completely housebroken but for the last month and a half he occasionally urinates in the house in certain places.  To me it seems he is marking his territory since we also have another golden the same age.  We got both of them at the same time but different litters.  At first, Sparky seemed to focus on my daughters things.  Ex. schoolbags, corner of bed, or just somewhere in her room.  He constantly follows her and licks the sofa/chair wherever she sits.  I have considered since she just turned 10 and coming to that age that this is what it was about.  But now he also marking places in my sons room.  He does not do this anywhere else in the house.  The dog is not fixed and it is something I did not want to do but there could be no alternative.  I would appreciate your advice on what to do.  Thank you.

Answer
Male dogs should be neutered at a young age.  Not only is this behaviorally an advantage, but it protects them against prostate disease and cancer.  Although neutering your dog will not eliminate testosterone related behaviors for some time, it should be done.  Within six to eight weeks, although the dog's testosterone levels will have flat lined, his intact male behaviors may not be so easily eradicated.

Your dog is most likely marking your children's' rooms in response to his observation that they are lower ranking, although obtaining pheromones which will make his "work" even more important to him.  At age 3, he has obtained the adult attitude and behavior and is responding to this development.  You need to make your children's' bedrooms totally off limits to him.  I also suggest that your children, under your STRICT supervision, embark on a "homework" assignment with both your dogs.  Learn about positive reinforcement training and teach your children how to use it, then (while you are observing) let THEM teach your dogs a simple behavior (such as "sit").  Teach the dogs separately and use the command ONLY when you observe that both your dogs are giving 100% successful compliance to the command from both your children (separately).  This should take approximately 3 to 6 weeks. Once 100% compliance is achieved, have your children make BOTH dogs work for them for all interaction.  This might be a chore for you, since kids don't have a great deal of patience or motivation for this normally, but it's to the benefit of all involved.  Your dogs will both learn that your children are IN CHARGE but they will also learn to respect their new level of leadership.

Please repost with any further questions and let me know how you're doing with your assignment.