How can I get my dog to quit marking his territorial on my front step?...I've tried rubbing his nose in it!

Answer 1

"Rubbing his nose in it" never works! It just teaches the dog that poop or pee is a bad thing no matter where it's done, and the dog might develop the habit of eating his feces, which is just terribly unhealthy. Dogs have very sensitive noses and can smell lots better than people, so it's just downright cruel to rub their nose in it.
Your dog is marking his territory because it's his territory! Is he neutered? If he is not neutered, neutering him will help tremendously with this behavior. If he is neutered, the best way to get him to stop is to catch him in the act, reprimand him by saying "No" sternly, and take him to a place where it's OK to pee.
Pet supply stores sell stakes that are impregnated with some kind of smell that attracts dogs to pee there. If you buy some of these, and train him to urinate over by the stakes, that might work well. You can also use a distraction technique, where you throw a can filled with marbles or coins near him when he starts to mark the steps. He will be distracted enough to stop the behavior, and then you can take him to where it's OK for him to pee. A spray bottle full of water can also work, along the same principle.
Hope this helps!

Answer 2

If you keep rubbing your dogs nose in it, he will get sick and then you will have an even bigger problem, vet bills. Clean the step off with Nature's Miracle. When you walk your dog take a can of penny's with you. On your way back in the house when he tries to mark, shake the can of penny's and say "NO, leave it". If he's old enough to mark he is old enough to catch onto this idea within a few days. Then get him neutered.

Answer 3

Oh I hate when people say they do that. Do not ever rub the dogs nose in any kind of its business. It is like someone rubbing your nose in your stuff. You wouldn't like it. They don't like it either and they don't learn from it. He has to have an area he knows is ok to mark. Perhaps in the back yard, side yard, somewhere. He doesn't know that isn't ok. In the dog world it is telling other dogs, hey man back off this is my territory. There is Boundary Pet Repellents at Petsmart. It works well with re-training the dog of not ok area and an ok area.

Answer 4

Rubbing your dog's nose in his urine won't stop him from peeing on your front step. That's pretty crude -- and cruel. (Ask your mother if she rubbed your nose in it when you were being toilet trained.)

What you should do is get him out the door and off the step more quickly. Don't give him time to mark the step, just open the door and go. Or start taking him out another door. Anything to break the habit.

If he does it when you're coming in, get him in more quickly. Again, don't give him the time. Tug his leash a little and tell him to come on.

Answer 5

~Golly gee. You want a dog, you just don't want it to be a dog or act like a dog. You have basically 4 choices:

1. Accept the fact that your dog is a dog and will act like a dog.
2. Get rid of the dog and get yourself a programmable stuffed animal.
3. Give the dog a lobotomy.
4. keep the dog away from the front step.

Answer 6

DO NOT rub an animal's nose in waste! They can get an infection and it doesn't work. Use white vinegar to remove urine [ammonia] smells so the animal 'loses' the scent. Cement is porous so if this is what the step is made of you may have to use more than one application.

Answer 7

that's real swift - girnding the poor dog's nose into your step. you need to not let him loose so he will mark in an approved area, secondly, neutralize the odor with something like vinegar or a product that eliminates pet odors.

stop abusing the poor dog - he's marking because he is protective of his surroundings - namely you and your home -and here you punish him. it's like spanking a baby for peeing - they don't know any better

Answer 8

I have found rolled up newspaper to be a good trick. For some reason the sound of the paper striking your hand really upsets dogs (at least it did mine). I don't believe in striking dogs personally and this seemed to be a good answer for my type of discipline. Try to catch him in the act so he knows why you are yelling at him. Rub his nose in it, yell "No, No!", and strike your hand with the newspaper. If you don't mind spanking your dog with a newspaper, you can strike his behind with it and it shouldn't hurt him, just scare him. Good luck!

Answer 9

my mom swears by this stuff called bitter apple. I think you can find it in pet stores. It won't hurt your dog, but they don't like the smell. You just spray it where they mark and they find another place.

Answer 10

You could put cayenne pepper around, so when the dog smells, it will be turned off. Or you could do what my mother always did...put mouse traps around it. Good luck!