Male Marking on walks

Question
I have adopted a 1yr old Miniature Schnauzer/terrier mix.  We are starting training with him but my problem is when we go on walks or to the outside mall or park, he stops and pee's every 2 minutes.  I'm told this is normal but I'd like to cut it down some.  Is that possible?  He learns fast but I don't want to stop something that is just a normal that male "neutered" dogs do.

Thanks.

Answer
Shelley, most dogs do try to 'mark' while on walks. With some dogs, it's not a big deal, but with others, they can start to become aggressive towards other dogs while on a walk, because they believe that the route you take when you walk them is all their territory, and every other dog they encounter is an intruder on their turf. I have a female that is this way. She was spayed at 10 weeks old, but still has some dominant traits. I learned that she must be prevented from 'marking' when I take her for walks, because if I allow her to do so, she starts getting aggressive towards dogs that we encounter while on that walk.

So, before I set out on a walk, whether I'm leaving from home or driving somewhere, I tell her to go potty before we leave the yard, praise her when she does, and then, if I'm driving her somewhere to walk, I will take her out of the car and tell her to go potty again before we begin our walk. If she tries to stop and 'mark' while we're walking, I will pop the leash several times while saying "aaht aaht aaht" and continuing on. I do NOT STOP walking. Sometimes she still gets out a few drops, but that's okay.

If it's a very long walk, I will stop about halfway through the walk, and tell her she can go potty, and I'll praise her if she does (sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't), and then we continue on.

The key here is that she only gets to 'mark' when >>I<< tell her it's okay to do so. That way, she's not marking along the whole path that we're taking.

I do the same thing with my male German shepherd. He knows he's not allowed to mark while we're on a walk, until I stop and tell him to. He's not as bad as my female, believe it or not.


I would recommend that you do the same with your boy, if stopping every 2 minutes gets on your nerves as much as it would me. Give him an opportunity to go potty before you start the walk, and don't forget to praise him!! While you're on your walk, DO NOT STOP if he stops to sniff a light pole, bush, tree, hydrant, whatever. Just give a few tugs on the leash and encourage him to come on. You want him to understand that he's supposed to be exercising, not marking territory. So it's very important that you allow him to potty >before< setting out on the walk. Let him pee several times around the perimeter of your yard first (or in the area around where you've parked), instead of just letting him 'go' one time in one spot. Male dogs, especially, like to spread their scent around.