Why has my dog stopped cocking his leg

Dogs mark on furniture for a variety of reasons: they haven't been properly potty trained, a life change has made them insecure or another dog's odor is tempting them. However, your dog's reasoning is not to get revenge or show you that it's dominant. In fact, the marking is most likely caused by insecurity. No matter what the reason, if your dog is inappropriately marking, it has too much freedom. To fix the problem, you must restrict your dog's freedom and teach it what you would like it to do instead.

Clean all accidents thoroughly. Dogs can smell much better than we can, so your dog may be reacting to smells of which you aren't aware. Don't use an ammonia-based cleaner. Choose one specifically designed to remove urine, and soak your dog's favorite spots several times.

If the marking began suddenly, visit your veterinarian. Though marking rarely happens because dogs can't hold it, your dog could have a urinary tract infection. In addition, neutered dogs are less likely to mark, so think about neutering your dog.

Determine any changes in routine that may have disturbed your dog. Did you add another dog? A family member? Loss in the family? All of these can cause a house-trained dog to act out. To reduce this, stabilize your dog's routine. Make sure it eats, exercises and plays at similar times daily. Do your best to give it plenty of attention, no matter what's going on in your life.

Restrict your dog's house freedom. If it is sneaking off to mark, you are giving it too much freedom. Any dog that is marking should always be within your sight. Use a leash to tether it to a certain area or use a crate or baby gates to restrict where it roams. Prevent it from reaching favorite marking spots unless you are supervising.

Stop your dog immediately if you see it start to sniff or lift its leg. Make a loud noise such as a yell or clapping. Grab your dog's leash and run it outside. If your dog lifts its leg outside, praise and reward. Continue this training until your dog loses interest in those spots. Gradually reintroduce freedom. If your dog makes a mistake, restrict the freedom for a longer period of time.

Warnings

• Don't punish your dog for marking. Unless you catch it in the act, the punishment won't be associated with the action anyway. If the marking is caused by insecurity, punishment will only make the marking worse.

No dog owner likes to discover that their furry friend has left little splashes of urine on walls, furniture, draperies and other surfaces. This type of territorial marking is instinctual and very common, but if you understand your dog's reasons for urine marking, you can take steps to correct this unwelcome behavior.

Marking or Urination?

Using urine to mark territory is not the same as regular urination. Urine marking is only a small amount of liquid, and dogs will mark many different areas to spread their scent widely. Vertical surfaces are marked more frequently because they show dominance more readily and are easier to smell. Regular urination, on the other hand, is a much larger quantity of liquid and may be on a vertical surface or on the floor. Even a housebroken dog may occasionally use urine marking.

Both male and female dogs may use urine marking to claim their territory, show their dominance in a pack hierarchy, advertise their readiness for a mate or just to communicate with other dogs. Mature, unaltered dogs are more likely to lift their legs, and urine marking is more common in homes where there are multiple dogs.

Putting a Stop to Urine Marking

There are several steps dog owners can take to minimize or eliminate urine marking behaviors.

• Neutering Spaying or neutering a dog at the earliest opportunity will greatly reduce urine marking, but animals of any age can be altered and the behavior will become less common. Lower hormone levels after a dog is spayed or neutered help minimize the need to mark territory and reduce competition between different animals that may wish to show dominance.
• Training Just as you housetrained your dog, you can also train them not to urine mark indoors or in unwanted areas such as a garden. Watch your dog closely, and when they begin sniffing, circling or otherwise showing signs of wanting to mark, correct them firmly with "No Pee!" or a similar command. Constant vigilance will be necessary until they learn the command well.
• Reward Proper Marking Even as you deter your dog from raising its leg in unwanted areas, be sure to praise and reward them for marking or urinating in appropriate locations. This will reinforce their positive behavior and provide comfort and confidence so they will mark only in approved or appropriate spots.
• Clean Thoroughly When your dog does mark a spot inappropriately, clean the area thoroughly with a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water. This will remove the odor so your dog is not reminded that they should mark in the same spot, and the strong scent will deter their sensitive nose from investigating too closely. Other strong odors, such as bitter or citrus-based sprays, can be applied to marked surfaces after cleaning to provide additional deterrents.
• Be a Leader Many dogs use urine marking because they are testing their dominance, or because they are feeling anxious and need to feel confident in their own space. If you continually reinforce your position as your dog's pack leader with strong training – for meals, walks, manners, play, etc. – your dog will feel more comfortable and will be less likely to mark different spots.
• Provide Proper Introductions
  Some dogs use urine marking when anything new enters their territory – a person, piece of furniture, pet, etc. To make the transition easier for your dog, allow them to sniff the new item or person thoroughly, mixing your scent with the new one so the dog understands that you approve of the new item and it is welcome. This will help your dog accept the newness without a need for urine marking.

Using multiple techniques to correct your dog from lifting his leg will be most effective to keep this problem behavior from recurring. The occasional marking or accident may still occur, but with good training and a good relationship with your pet, you can correct leg lifting with ease.

You may have been surfing the internet and stumbled across a hilarious video of a pug urinating while doing a handstand. While this is indeed funny, it is actually one of 12 distinct elimination postures dogs use while peeing.

The handstand, among some of the more popular options like the “raise” and “squat” positions, were all documented in a 1970s study on canine elimination patterns.

Conventionally, it is thought that a male dog lifts his leg to urinate and a female dog squats. Because this is statistically true, it often leads pet parents to believe that any male that does not lift his leg, or any female that does not squat, has a behavioral or medical issue.

Let’s find out what’s behind the urge for dogs to lift their leg to pee.

Why Dogs Raise Their Legs to Urinate

So, what is it that causes a male dog or even a female dog to raise their leg? Thankfully, science has given us an answer.

With both male and female dogs, urination serves two distinct purposes: eliminating liquid waste and marking territory. Male dogs are much more likely to scent-mark, which contributes to their occasional preference for a leg-lifting position. Lifting a leg makes it easier to urinate on higher surfaces like trees or fire hydrants and cover a larger area, which leaves a stronger message than urine on the ground.

Do All Male Dogs Lift Their Legs to Pee?

Leg-lifting or leg-raising is not a born habit in the majority of pups. A 2018 research article written in part by Dr. Betty McGuire, who has a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University, studied scent-marking in shelter pets.

The study showed that there are two predominant postures that a male dog will utilize for urination: the classic leg lift and a position known as the juvenile lean posture or the “racehorse” stance.

Most male dogs start with the “lean” stance, where both hind limbs stay on the ground, the body leans forward, and the hind legs are extended back.

As a male dog starts to reach maturity, he will increasingly lift his leg while urinating. Sexual maturity in puppies usually starts in male pups around the 6-month mark in small breeds, and up to around 9 months in medium to large breeds, and it may not occur until over a year in some giant breeds.

You can, however, influence how a male dog will urinate. Often, working dogs (like seeing eye dogs or bomb-sniffing dogs) are trained to not mark their territory to avoid having them urinate on surfaces where you don’t want them to urinate.

Even if you don’t have a working dog, if you want to keep the vertical surfaces around your home and yard clean, you can encourage your pup to not lift their legs to pee. Keeping young male pups away from vertical surfaces when they urinate can help prevent them from starting the leg-lifting behavior.

Why Do Some Female Dogs Lift Their Leg to Pee?

Male dogs are not the only ones who mark their territory with urine. Scent-marking is a common form of communication used by most mammals in both sexes.

In a paper published in 2004 looking at urination habits among female dogs, researchers found that the farther away from home the female dogs were, the more likely they were to urinate frequently and aim their urine at objects. This same study found that there were two prominent urination postures for female dogs—the ever-popular squat, and the combination of a squat and a leg-lift, called a “squat-raise.”

So, while male dogs are more likely to urinate to mark their territory, it is not uncommon for female dogs to lift their leg to leave a message for the next pup who comes along.

What If My Male Dog Doesn't Lift Their Leg to Pee?

There are multiple urination positions that are normal for male dogs—the leg lift is just one of them. The urination stance they use depends on a number of factors, including their situation and even their breed. Most dogs have solidified their preference for a stance by adulthood.

It’s also possible that dogs will change their urination posture in response to stress. In the shelter study conducted by Dr. McGuire, she observed that dogs in high-stress situations, such as having been recently adopted, may revert to a lean-posture stance. Many dogs will also have an ambidextrous or ambilateral nature to their stance, meaning they will lift their left or right leg interchangeably.

If your male (or female) dog changes their urination position, it may be a sign of a medical concern, like joint pain or a urinary tract issue. If your dog has changed their urination stance, take them to see your veterinarian to make sure there isn’t an underlying health issue.

Is It True That Small Dogs Lift Their Legs Higher When They Pee?

Scent-marking in dogs, according to Dr. McGuire, communicates information about the dog, including their size and their potential competitive ability. In her study, she found that the smaller the dog, the more likely they were to raise their leg at a higher angle and therefore urinate higher on a vertical surface.

“It might be uniquely beneficial for small dogs to exaggerate their body size and competitive abilities through relatively high scent marks if this enables them to avoid direct conflict,” writes Dr. McGuire. “In contrast, large dogs, with greater competitive abilities, would have less incentive to avoid direct conflict.”

Therefore, little dogs are more likely to urinate higher on surfaces to present themselves as larger dogs and potentially tougher competitors. However your dog might choose to urinate, be mindful of their regular positioning and keep your veterinarian in the loop should anything change.

Featured Image: iStock.com/misscherrygolightly