Why is my 9-month-old neutered Maltese marking in the house?

This can be a frustrating problem in intact males! The first thing I would do right away is have Junior neutered - many times, this will decrease the marking behavior dramatically even if it's already been going on for several years. After this is done, you will likely still need to work with him a bit on housetraining. Treat him like a young puppy who has no idea where to potty - take him out frequently, praise and reward for peeing outside, and supervise constantly indoors to prevent accidents. If you see him starting to lift his leg, clap your hands and say "ah-ah!" or "no!" - he will soon learn that this is not acceptable in the house, if you are consistent. Don't relax your supervision until he has had at least two weeks with no accidents at all, then increase his freedom in the house very slowly. This will take time and patience, but it can definitely be done.

You are correct that this type of behavior is difficult to correct. The best way to correct it is to not allow it to happen. Easier said than done. The best way I have found to allow that is to either use a Belly Band (www.bellybands.net), keep the dog on a leash attached to you in the house or keep the dog in a crate when you are gone. The goal is that it he does not get the satisfaction of urinating on something (either because the belly band prevents it, because you are on the other end of the leash preventing it, or because he is in a crate), that the behavior is less likely to continue. However, it will be a work in progress and since it has been going on for over 3 years, it will not resolve quickly. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I see that Zeus is not neutered - unless he is a show or breeding dogs, this is the first thing I would suggest doing. It's extremely common for intact male dogs to have issues with urine marking in the house once they reach social maturity, usually around 12-18 months of age - so it sounds like Zeus is right on time for this behavior. I would also recommend supervising him constantly when he is in the house so that you can interrupt him if you see him starting to lift his leg, and confining him to a crate or dog-proofed room when you aren't home to help prevent accidents. A belly band (essentially a diaper for male dogs) can also be helpful in the short term while you are working on the problem.

Sounds like Pugsley may still be exhibiting marking behavior! If you have other dogs in the house or aren't properly removing the urine scent from the house, it may be compelling him to continue marking. If you catch him in the act, stop him immediately and take him outside to finish going. In the house you can use baby gates to limit access to certain areas of the house where he attempts to mark to help stop the habit. Keeping him in a kitchen or other easy to clean area can help. For removing any marked areas, an enzymatic cleaner is best as it will break down the urine particles that may be attracting him to lift his leg there again and can help stop the habit.

The short answer is: maybe. Urine marking can develop into a set habit of behavior, and it can be difficult to get them to stop completely if they weren't neutered at an early age. However, in trying to minimize the behavior, the very first thing you should do IS to neuter your dog, so you're already on the right track. Here are a couple of great articles that you may find helpful in terms of curbing this behavior. https://www.spca.org/document.doc?id=116 https://www.petcoach.co/article/7-rules-for-effective-housetraining/ I hope that helps you! Thank you for asking PetCoach!

It is possible, but it is also possible he is urine marking because if he was only neutered in the last few months, or merely because there is a new cat present. I would suggest the following article to help; https://www.petcoach.co/article/6-common-reasons-for-potty-accidents-in-dogs/

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Cashew. I recommend having him neutered. He is coming into puberty which is why he had started the urine marking behavior. Neutering him will help to resolve this behavior. It will take about 30 days after the surgery for the testosterone to leave his system. It may not resolve the problem entirely as it can become a learned behavior, but it should decrease it significantly. I hope this information helps!