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Hi all

I seem to be having a problem with marking. Merlin 1 yr 4 months started marking the house in December when Tasha (almost 3) went into heat. It seems to be getting worse and worse every day. We took him to the vet to see if something was wrong, he had an infection (semen in his urinary tract) which was taken care of with antibiotics. He's still marking. The vet suggested we should have him neutered. I'm to the point to say go ahead and try and see if that works, but my husband is against it, he wants to get Tasha spayed instead. The problem is Tasha is my son's dog and he doesn't want to get her spayed. Next problem is apparently I am the only one who see's the mess. The two of them can walk by it all night long and not see it..... Quite frankly I'm sick of cleaning it up. The other morning he lifted his leg on the chair on the way out to the backyard, right in front of me. We've tried just about everything I can think of, any suggestions?

Thanks
Denise

Your Merlin is a beautiful boy.. but if you don't planning on breeding him I would vote to neuter/spay both dogs to prevent any unplanned puppies that you will end up taking care of and having to find homes for. Try doing a search on Male markings or neutering to get opinions from other members .... I neutered Leo at 6 months old and I am so glad I did, I am fortunate that I never had a problem him making in the house, but he would hump everything in sight---toys, blankets, furniture and of course your legs and he rarely does it now... I always neuter/spay all my animals.

NEUTER! Carter peed all over EVERYTHING when we went out in public, especially when we went to PetSmart. He's been neutered since the end of November and the marking problem has reduced DRAMATICALLY. He used to pee in the store about 5+ times every time we went in. It now has dropped to maybe one or 2 every other visit. I can definitely see the change in him, even right away I noticed. When we adopted him, I couldn't wait to get him neutered! It was like celebration on our end when we finally got it done. It takes up to 30 days for all the hormones to be gone, but you notice a difference in as little as a week to 2 weeks. I couldn't stand Carter before he was neutered, now he is a happy dog that is more focused on us then females and smells.

If you aren't going to breed him, there is no reason he shouldn't be neutered. There are many health benefits that go along with it too. No risk of testicular cancer, less urge to fight, run away/roam, and of course, mark! And as a pet overpopulation activist, it's just a plan good thing to do to prevent unwanted litters.

Thanks for the advice, it's the same as the vets. Now how do I convince my husband. Of the 5 chows we've had only Daisy was spayed. And that was because we could not get her papers and Jeff did not want to even think about breeding a chow without papers.

Thanks
denise

Neuter the husband and the son.
This will improve their eyesight.

I am about to have Maddoxx neutered on April 14th ( very nervous time for us) The reason we did this was really about the well being of Maddoxx. Being that we live in a neighborhood and he is exposed to lots of dogs walking the sidewalk by the house he can see and smell every bitch in heat. We all know our chows use the base instincts (Eat, sleep, breed, protect and sit pretty for cookies) Not being able to breed will not help his mental state.

So by having him neutered we will be removing the one aspect of his life he doesn't need to worry about. Yes it does have some benefits for us the owners but it is for his benefit. Plus I never have to worry about him escaping and starting a family of his own.

Its a win win for both of us. Any advice for post surgery care? What should I do to take special care of him (besides making him a cone head) ?

The marking may not neccisarily stop after nutering, Chen still does but he only marks at the vets office He never really did mark much before but my vet did tell me that once it starts nutering may not fix it. I would have him fixed anyway just for simple health reasons, Chen gained weight like you wouldn't belive after his surgery. The cone lasted about 3 days I think, he used it as a battering ram lol!

CoraP. wrote:Maybe if you ask him to help clean the pee more when Merlin marks, he'll see the benefits of neutering a lot quicker!

Gotta agree with Cora although I have been told that once they have started to mark, it's not going to stop with being neutered but then again it might. I think guys have a harder time with having the boys neutered than having the female spayed even though having the spay done is much more serious operation. Females should be spayed. Having the female and male fixed will help avoid other medical issues later.

Carter is about 3 or 4 years old and he marked like crazy. As I've said before, his marking problems have been drastically reduced. It may not completely eliminate the marking, but it will at least lower is urge to do it. Carter is much more tolerable since he's been neutered. Even if it lowers the number of times he marks by just a little, it'd be worth it in my book!

Your son should understand the risk of pyometra for unaltered females. Really, it is best for the animals. Men often have a real psychological response to neutering...something about projection of self onto the animal...quite common.

I just dealt with the same thing about 8 months ago. My 2 year old male started to mark in the house. I suggested neutering to my husband but he wasn't sold on the idea until.....Cody peed on his big screen tv. He got neutered the next week. Since getting neutered the marking has completely stopped. It took about a month after it was done for it to stop but the vet said it was normal because the testostrone would need to work his way out of his system.

Neutering and spaying is always the best choice for the pet, because it lowers
health risks. You may help your husband and son understand, by explaining that having your pets "fixed" is the responsible thing to do.
There are over 3 million dogs euthanized yearly, due to over population. So, we each must do our part.
Unless, your husband or son are a licensed breeder, is there really any need to bring more litters from random breeding into the world?
A licensed breeder will have done the genealogy of the bloodline, certifying your breeding pair does not possess several health concerns of the breed. Proper breeding can be expensive, especially when things do not go well at birthing time. Has your son or husband considered these costs?
Hopefully, by communicating these concerns, you will be able to win your son and husband over to your way of thinking!
Shhhh, don't tell them we helped you!

Holden was not neutered until he was almost 2 and I regret waiting so long. He would mark anything and everything before the neuter (he would even mark the furniture where my family was sitting after they got up if they had dogs at home). After the neuter, he stopped marking in the house but outside he still pees on anything and everything. He even pretends to pee when he can't pee anymore.

So I say neuter but don't expect him to stop marking completely.

Thanks for all the help. I made Jeff clean up after Merlin for an entire weekend. He has an appointment at the vet today to get his blood work done.!!