housebreaking neutered dog

Question
I have a 4yr old neutered male miniature poodle. He has been housebroke and was doing fine. Lately he marks anything and everything inside. I crate him at night and when not home. He will hike his leg and do it right in front of me. I do have a female poodle. I don't know if that would have anything to do with it. He goes outside often and will even try to mark when there is nothing coming out. He went to the vet a couple times and there is no infection. My husband says there is no way we are keeping him if he continues. I love him with all my heart and can't give him up. Please help! I will try anything!!!

Answer
How long have you had the female? It may or may not matter, but is she spayed?

If you have just recently gotten the female, your male could be marking to reaffirm that he was there first and this is HIS territory. Regardless, you need to correct him for it, because it is not appropriate for him to be doing it in the house.

Treat him just as you would a non-housebroken puppy. In addition to crating him at night and when you cannot watch him during the day, you need to keep him on a leash (he can either drag it around or you can hang onto it to keep him close to you) whenever you are at home and he's out of the crate. As soon as he starts sniffing an object and/or lifting his leg to pee on it, you should give him a stern verbal reprimand, along with a leash correction (a quick jerk, to get his attention), and immediately take him outside. He may pee out there and he may not. It really doesn't matter, but if he >>does<<, then you should praise him.

It may take a week or more to fully break him of the marking behavior, but if you are consistent, you most certainly can do it.


Another thing you might consider is letting him wear a male doggie diaper, so that if he does attempt to mark something inside, the pee is contained. The only thing about this is that, just like with a human child, you must keep the diaper pad changed and keep him dry underneath. The diaper is not a cure for the problem; it's only a step you can take to keep from having pee on your furniture and walls. You must still use the correction & take outside method above to solve the problem.