Marking around the house.

Question
Hello Kristen,
We have 4 Maltese dogs. All boys ages 1.5 - 9 years old.
Recently our dogs started marking throughout our house.
They are all potty trained, but of course if one marks the other ones mark over it. I am cleaning everyday and don't know what to do. Today they marked on my husbands speaker, which was not a good thing! Any advice? I really need help with this.

Thanks so much in advance.
Dominique

Answer
Hi, Dominique. What you may want to do is to keep them confined to the room you are in so you can quickly scold whoever pees on something first, and prevent it so that another one is not apt to want to mark there, too. When you see them behaving as if they are going to mark something, say "NO. Outside," and immediately take the offender out (preferably on leash). Praise for pottying outside. Another solution is to get them belly bands to wear in the house. This will not prevent them from trying to mark, but it will make the behavior uncomfortable for them, and should help make them stop. You will have to be diligent in keeping them clean if you go this route, though. You don't want them going around for several hours with a pee-soaked belly band, just like you don't want to leave a pee-soaked diaper on a baby.

Kristen