Copyright 2000. Dumb Friends
League. All rights reserved.
Dogs and cats are territorial
animals. This means that they "stake out a claim" to a particular space,
area or object. They let other people and animals know about their claim
by marking it with a variety of methods and at many levels of intensity.
For example, a dog may bark to drive away what he perceives as intruders
to his territory. A cat may mark a valued object by rubbing it with her
face.
Some pets may go to the extreme of urinating or defecating to mark a
particular area as their own. Urine-marking is not a house soiling
problem, but is a territorial behavior. Therefore, to resolve the problem,
you need to address the underlying reason for your pet’s need to mark his
territory in this way.
House Soiling Or Urine-Marking? How To
Tell The Difference!
Your pet may be urine-marking if:
- The problem is primarily
urination. Dogs and cats rarely mark with feces.
- The amount of urine is small
and is found primarily on vertical surfaces. Dogs and cats do sometimes
mark on horizontal surfaces. Leg-lifting and spraying are dominant
versions of urine-marking, but even if your pet doesn’t assume these
postures, he may still be urine-marking.
- Any pet in your home is not
spayed or neutered. Both intact males and females are more likely to
urine-mark than are spayed or neutered animals. However, even spayed or
neutered animals may mark in response to other intact animals in the
home.
- Your pet urinates on new
objects in the environment (a shopping bag, a visitor’s purse), on
objects that have unfamiliar smells, or on objects that have another
animal’s scent.
- Your pet has conflicts with
other animals in your home. When there’s instability in the pack
hierarchy, a dog may feel a need to establish his dominance by
urine-marking his territory. If one cat is intimidating another cat, the
bullied cat may express his anxiety by urine-marking.
- Your pet has contact with other
animals outside your home. A cat that’s allowed outdoors may come home
and mark after having an encounter with another cat outside. If your pet
sees another animal through a door or window, he may feel a need to mark
his territory.
- Your dog marks frequently on
neighborhood walks.
What You Can Do:
- Spay or neuter your pet as soon
as possible. Spaying or neutering your pet may stop urine-marking
altogether, however, if he has been urine-marking over a long period of
time, a pattern may already be established.
- Resolve conflicts between
animals in your home (see our handouts: "Canine Rivalry" and "Feline
Social Behavior and Aggression Between Family Cats").
- Restrict your pet’s access to
doors and windows through which they can observe animals outside. If
this isn’t possible, discourage the presence of other animals near your
house (see our handout: "Discouraging Roaming Cats").
- Keep your cat indoors. He’ll be
safer, will live longer, and will feel less need to mark his territory.
- Clean soiled areas thoroughly
(see our handout: "Successful Cleaning to Remove Pet Odors and Stains").
Don’t use strong smelling cleaners as these may cause your pet to
"over-mark" the spot.
- Make previously soiled areas
inaccessible or unattractive (see our handouts: "Aversives For Dogs" and
"Aversives For Cats").
- If making soiled areas
inaccessible or unattractive isn’t possible, try to change the
significance of those areas. Feed, treat and play with your pet in the
areas he is inclined to mark.
- Keep objects likely to cause
marking out of reach. Guests’ belongings, new purchases and so forth,
should be placed in a closet or cabinet.
- If your pet is marking in
response to a new resident in your home (a new baby, roommate or
spouse), have the new resident make friends with your pet by feeding,
grooming and playing with your pet. Make sure good things happen to your
pet when the new baby is around (see our handout: "Preparing Your Pet
for Baby’s Arrival").
- For dogs: watch your dog at all
times when he is indoors for signs that he is thinking about urinating.
When he begins to urinate, interrupt him with a loud noise and take him
outside, then praise him and give him a treat if he urinates outside.
When you’re unable to watch him, put your dog in confinement (a crate or
small room where he has never marked) or tether him to you with a leash.
- For cats: try to monitor your
cat’s movements. If he even sniffs in an area he has previously marked,
make a loud noise or squirt him with water. It's best if you can do this
without him seeing you, because then he’ll associate the unpleasantness
with his intent to mark, rather than with you.
- Practice "nothing in life is
free" with your dog (see our handout: "Nothing In Life Is Free"). This
is a safe, non-confrontational way to establish your leadership and
requires your dog to work for everything he wants from you. Have your
dog obey at least one command (such as "sit") before you pet him, give
him dinner, put on his leash or throw a toy for him. Establishing
yourself as a strong leader can help stabilize the hierarchy and thus
diminish your dog’s need to mark his territory.
What Not To Do:
Don’t punish your pet after the fact. Punishment administered even a
minute after the event is ineffective because your pet won’t understand
why he is being punished.
Pets Aren’t People
Dogs and cats don’t urinate or defecate out of spite or
jealousy. If your dog urinates on your baby’s diaper bag, it’s not because
he is jealous of, or dislikes your baby. The unfamiliar scents and sounds
of a new baby in the house are simply causing him to reaffirm his claim on
his territory. Likewise, if your cat urinates on your new boyfriend’s
backpack, this is not his opinion of your taste in men. Instead, he has
perceived the presence of an "intruder" and is letting the intruder know
that this territory belongs to him.
Dominance Or Anxiety?
Urine-marking is usually associated with dominance
behavior. While this is often the case, some pets may mark when they feel
anxious or upset. For example, a new baby in the home brings new sounds,
smells and people, as well as changes in routine. Your dog or cat probably
isn’t getting as much attention as he was used to getting. All of these
changes cause him to feel anxious, which may cause him to mark. Likewise,
a pet that is generally anxious may become more so by the presence of
roaming neighborhood animals in your yard, or by the introduction of a new
cat or dog into your household. If your pet is feeling anxious, you might
consider talking to your veterinarian about medications to reduce his
anxiety while you work on behavior modification. |
