Odd potty behavior

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joji732
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:31 pm

Odd potty behavior

Post by joji732 »

First, I wanted to thank all of you who have answered my questions in the past. I also wanted to acknowledge how helpful these forums have been. Just by reading the posts I've learned to think in new ways - and I've begun to be able to figure things out on my own about my dog's behavior. This one, however, has me stumped.

A quick refresher on my dog - Rusty is a 2-year-old Jack Russell mix that I adopted about 7 weeks ago. He came to the shelter as a stray who had been running the streets, so potty training has been something we've had to work on. Since he was only neutered a couple of months ago, I wonder whether some of his peeing is marking, rather than an actual need to urinate. That leads to my question.

On numerous occasions, I have watched Rusty sniff at a spot (bush, pole, ground) and then sniff himself. After he does this, he may or may not choose to urinate in that spot. I ask, because I've seen him do this in the house as well, although I've never seen him urinate in the house after doing this (at other times, yes, but not after doing this). While I realize that the ultimate goal is to help him understand that urinating outside is more rewarding than doing it inside, I'm wondering if this is marking behavior - which would tell me that I want to do whatever I can to make him feel confident that this is his place and nothing will threaten that so he doesn't feel like he must constantly assert himself.

A related question - what do you think about using a male wrap to avoid accidents when I'm not home? I work from home, so he is not alone for long periods of time - usually 3-4 hours tops. I haven't had any luck getting him used to the crate, and my house has an open floor plan so there really isn't any place I can confine him. He is great in every other way when he is alone - it's just the potty problem.

Thanks in advance for your help
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