Portuguese Water Dog Training: House Training, Marking and Submissive Urinating

                                                                                         

One less-discussed (but just as unnerving) house training concern is the dog that marks territory indoors. This is a concern that is usually linked with male dogs who are displaying dominant behavior or have a strong tendency to mate. Another reason why this problem pops up (sometimes in tandem with dominance or the urge to mate, sometimes alone) is due to a general anxiety felt by some dogs.

Dogs that feel threatened give in to the instinct to warn others through scent marking that a house (or a territory) is already off-limits. For dogs, scent posts are just as effective for keeping intruders away as fence posts!

Overtime, scent marking can grow into a problem that will test all your attempts as dog-owner to correct, but it is possible to make the corrections. The first important thing to remember is that a male dog always need to be neutered. The next thing that is needed is that the dog be taught to eliminate on command; in case the dog is male, he needs to be taught to relieve himself on the designated scent post. In case the dog is relieving on the wrong spot, you will have to catch the dog in the act of eliminating on that spot, so that the dog will take your correction in its proper sense. Better yet, correct the behavior, and never the dog! If its a Portie that you have, why not get him some portuguese water dog training?

A temperament issue that is sometimes mistaken for a house training problem is submissive urinating. If your dog pees when tense or nervous, or upon ushering visitors, or when you are angry, your pet can be said to be prone to a submissive urinating problem. A dog with this issue must never be punished when it commits accidents. Otherwise, the problem will get worse, and both you and your dog end up with frayed nerves.

So what's to do? One, you need better communication with the dog. This includes doing away with emotional greetings, avoiding eye contact upon greetings (until the dog is trained for eye contact), and eliminating dominant stances relative to the dog. If you have an extra-smart dog like a portie who has this problem, things would go faster with some portuguese water dog training.

Try also to win the trust of your dog through various touch-games that can help affected dogs to loosen up a bit. Not to be dispensed with is a well balanced obedience training program.

Indeed, come to think of it, any dog with a house training problem will benefit a lot from potty training.

About the author:
Richard Cussons has lots of experience raising portuguese water dogs. Know more about this breed and useful portuguese water dog training tips at portuguesewaterdogsavvy.com.

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