spraying

Question
I have a 4 year old yellow lab.  He is purebred and came from a reputable breeder.  Both mother and father for at least 5 generations have been nothing but field or hunt champions.  Unfortunately I was unable to either train him or have him trained for field or hunt when he was younger.  I have a big problem with him spraying in the home, often times it is while we are asleep or don't see him do it, so the stain is set in before we find it.  Is there anyway other than making him sterile that would be suitable for this situation.  Or because of his age and lack of breed training, should I just have him neutered?

Answer
Sam, there really is no need to leave him intact, regardless of the problem you are having with him. Because he is only a family pet, and does not have any show or working titles, he should not be bred, so having him neutered is the responsible thing to do. In addition to helping curb his desires to mark in your home, having him neutered will also reduce his chances of prostate problems as he ages, and it will completely eliminate his chances of developing testicular cancer, since his testes will be gone.

Neutering will not be a complete fix for your problem, however. You will still need to work with him and teach him that marking in the home is against the rules. If he does it when you are not watching, then you will need to find a way to confine him so that he cannot do it while you're sleeping or not paying attention. When you go to bed, you may want to consider crating him. Because of his age, you shouldn't have to worry about him going potty in the crate, so you can get as big a crate as you like. Another solution might be to put him in a room where he does not already mark, but that probably will not work because it's likely that he will begin to mark in that room if he has no other place to do it. When you are at home, do not let him out of your sight, and if you see him start to lift his leg, scold him and take him outside immediately, just as you would if you were house training a young puppy.

A final suggestion would be a belly band, but you will still need to do the training; the only thing the belly band will do will be to keep his pee from ending up on your furniture, walls, etc.