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Urine marking is one of the ways dogs communicate. Best Friends Animal Society says a dog may mark for territorial reasons, as a response to stress or anxiety, or because of hormonal influences in intact males. This guide explains how to tell marking from other urination problems and what to do about each.
Marking is most often seen when a dog enters a new environment, a new dog enters the home, or something big changes at home, according to Best Friends.
What Marking Looks Like
The ASPCA describes scent marking as urinating small amounts on vertical surfaces. Most male dogs, and some female dogs, who scent mark raise a leg to urinate.
Why Dogs Mark
Best Friends lists the situations in which a dog may feel threatened and feel the need to mark:
- A new pet moves into your home.
- A new human baby comes home.
- A new adult starts spending time at your house.
- You move to a place that has smells from other dogs.
Hormones play a part: Best Friends names intact males specifically. It also says stress and anxiety can be behind marking. If a neutered dog is still marking after the usual steps, the group says the cause could be underlying anxiety, and that vets, trainers and veterinary behaviorists can help work out what to do.
Marking or Something Else?
Best Friends is clear that urine marking differs from a lack of house training or a medical issue, and advises checking with your veterinarian if a dog’s elimination habits have changed. Rule these out first.
Medical Causes
The ASPCA lists medical causes of house soiling: urinary tract infection, a weak sphincter caused by old age, hormone-related problems after spay surgery, bladder stones, diabetes and kidney disease, among others. It also notes that some medications cause frequent urination. Dogs with incontinence often seem unaware they have soiled, and sometimes leak urine while asleep.
WebMD adds details on two of them. Urinary tract infections are often caused by bacteria from feces or other debris, and can bring bloody or cloudy urine or visible pain when urinating. In diabetes, excess glucose overflows into the urine and takes water with it, and the signs include a bigger appetite, drinking more water, losing weight and urinating more often. Only a vet can tell these apart, with blood and urine tests.
Other Behavior Causes
The ASPCA also asks owners to rule out the following before deciding that a dog is marking:
- Submissive or excitement urination, which happens during greetings, play, physical contact or when a dog is reprimanded. These dogs tend to hold the tail low, flatten the ears or crouch. See why a dog pees when excited.
- Incomplete house training. The ASPCA says training that involved punishment may have made a dog afraid to eliminate while his owner is watching or nearby.
- Separation anxiety, if the accidents happen only when the dog is alone. See our guide to separation anxiety. Fear and stress are a separate case: see helping a fearful dog.
How to Prevent Marking
Best Friends Animal Society says the best way to prevent urine marking in unaltered dogs is to spay or neuter them, especially before they mature. If the dog is an adult and the behavior is already well established, neutering might not help. See our pros and cons of neutering.
When you bring home a dog that may mark, Best Friends suggests keeping him on leash and supervised at first so you can move him outside at the first sign. If you must leave him unsupervised, keep him crated or in an enclosed place where you know he will not mark. The group says to repeat this when you bring in new furniture or other upright items if the dog has a history of marking.
How to Clean Marked Spots
Best Friends recommends neutralizing the spot with an enzymatic cleaner to get rid of the odor completely, since otherwise the smell invites the dog to mark the same place again. It says the enzymes digest the odor-causing protein in organic material. For a step-by-step approach, see how to remove dog pee smell from carpet and what to do if the whole house smells like dog urine.
Marking on Walks
Marking outdoors is a normal way for dogs to communicate. The sources we cite give no method for stopping it on walks, so we do not offer one. If it becomes hard to manage, a dog trainer can show you how to handle your dog on the leash.
What Not to Do
Do not punish a dog for urinating indoors. The ASPCA warns that house training involving punishment can make a dog afraid to eliminate while his owner is nearby. If marking continues after the steps above, ask a vet, trainer or veterinary behaviorist.
Related Questions
Will neutering stop my dog from marking?
Why does my dog mark in other people’s houses?
Final Thoughts
Marking is a normal form of communication, but a change in a dog’s elimination habits is a reason to see the vet before assuming it is behavior. If a neutered dog keeps marking after the steps above, Best Friends points to underlying anxiety and recommends professional help.
Resources
- Best Friends Animal Society, Dog marking and peeing in the house: causes and how to stop it
- ASPCA, Separation anxiety (medical causes and behavior problems to rule out)
- WebMD, Medical causes of house soiling in dogs
Frequently asked questions
What actually removes dog urine smell?
An enzymatic cleaner. It breaks down the uric acid crystals that ordinary cleaners leave behind, which is exactly why the smell keeps coming back without one.
Why does my house still smell like dog pee after cleaning?
Regular cleaners mask it but leave the uric salts in the carpet pad or subfloor. Humidity reactivates the odor until an enzyme cleaner digests it.
Does vinegar get rid of dog urine?
It helps with fresh, light accidents and neutralizes some odor, but it will not break down set-in stains the way an enzyme cleaner does.
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