I couldn't find a recent thread about the problem I'm having, so I thought I'd start a new one!
I caught my boy (a 9-month-old German Shepherd cross, unneutered) deliberately peeing in front of the water bowl after he and his mum came back from a walk and had a drink. He’s not the dominant type at all—quite the opposite, in fact—especially around his mum, who is definitely the boss.
Could this be territory marking to assert himself against her, or could it be something else?
He’s been getting up to quite a bit of mischief lately because my partner and I have gone back to work, so the two of them are being left alone more often (he's started chewing my wooden furniture). They have plenty of toys and soft toys, though. The female is much better behaved and 'protects' the things he steals from us by putting them in her bed.
We treat them both exactly the same, but I’ve got a feeling he’s getting jealous and acting out or peeing next to his bowl to get back at us.
What do you think? Has anyone else dealt with anything like this before?
Thanks :)
Translated from French
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We kept treating Orphée like a little puppy and assumed she’d always defer to the older dog. As she’s grown up a bit, we’ve realised that her dominant streak means she won’t just put up with everything, even though she’s actually very tolerant. It’s like we kept treating a teenager like a six-year-old! Hence the mini rebellion 😂
The dynamics between dogs change over time too, depending on how they develop and their individual temperaments...
Hi there,
No, I don’t think it’s out of spite.
He’s 9 months old, right in the middle of his "teenage" phase, so he’s gaining confidence and becoming more assertive. Keep up with the training regarding not touching the furniture and so on... but without necessarily telling him off. That might just increase his frustration and lead to conflict later, and he’d likely just end up doing it behind your back to avoid getting into trouble (a bit like a puppy who gets told off for accidents and then hides to do their business).
A firm but calm "no" or "leave it" is enough, combined with a confident attitude from you as the owner.
As for peeing in front of the food bowl... we’ve been there.
We have Orphée, a one-year-old female. Back in May, we looked after her friend, an 8-year-old Boxer, for a week (they know each other well and get along). The big one has a dominant temperament and so does Orphée, though she’d been more submissive to her elder since she was a pup... but then puberty hits. Orphée is finding her feet and might feel a bit slighted without us even realising at first.
In fact, the big dog always ate a few seconds before her and went through doors first. Just that.
For the first two days after their meal, Orphée would go over to the big dog’s bowl and pee in front of it. She wasn’t in an over-excited state. We didn't say anything; we just cleaned it up without telling her off.
Thinking back, she also seemed less inclined to follow the general rules during those two days, like a mini-rebellion. Nothing serious, thankfully, but you could sense a bit of a revolt.
Knowing her well, and as she's always had a dominant personality, she felt she was facing a sort of injustice. We fixed it: she started going through doors at the same time as the big one (after us) and eating at the same time. By the third day, there were no more accidents, and we’ve had no issues since during any of the big dog's stays.
It’s not about giving in here; it’s just about adapting to what she can or can’t accept and how she’s feeling. She’s actually perfectly happy sharing the living space, her beds, and even her water...
It’s up to you to find what might have triggered this in your dog. I definitely think it’s a form of scent marking. He isn't looking for revenge, he’s just trying to signal that he’s there. You’ll need to work out why he feels the need to signal... In my opinion, once you find the cause and sort it out, the problem will be resolved quickly.
