QUESTION: I just got a 5
month old, very small breed puppy. He pees in and on my
shoes. I hate this. What can I do about it as I really
like him, other than this happening? I was told he is mad
at me for something? How do I make him not so mad at me?
ANSWER: The best way to
stop him from marking his scent over top of your scent in
your shoes is to keep them off the floor where he cannot get
at them. Put them on a shelf or something. Dogs, Cats,
Ferrets, you name it will sometimes do this.
It has absolutely nothing to do with
being mad at the human. Sometimes that particular
person has a sweat odor to their shoes that an animal is
attracted too. Or use a perfumed powder, body wash,
whatever that attracts the animal.
In some cases it is where the
person works or walks outside the home where a strange scent
is picked up on the shoe itself, resulting in the animal
marking that persons shoes. CASE: One lady in question
always cut across a strip of well kept grass on the
boulevard when returning home from work. Her indoor cat
always peed on the shoes because of the scent of freshly
mowed grass. I had her buy new shoes and stay on the
sidewalk until home. The cat never did it again.
It could also be a Dominance
Issue? Your wee dog thinks he is above you in the Pack
Pecking Order. To a domesticated dog, we are members of his
Pack. Thus he is placing his scent over top of yours.
Since he is still just a puppy and not fully mature, I
pretty well rule this one out because of his age. This
happens usually with adult dogs who are very spoiled and
never disciplined so that they have never learned that the
human is the "Leader Of The Pack", and not them. Yes, we
humans replace other members of the Pack in the
domesticated dog. They are after all, instinctively Pack
Animals.
NOTE: This behavior
trait has occasionally been seen in very "Submissive"
(Timid) Dogs" who are simply trying to fit into a territory
(home) where they don't feel loved or understood if coming
to the home as already well past the 16 week old
kindergarten stage of puppyhood. This is extremely rare
though and usually goes away after the dog has had lots of
time to BOND with it's new home and territory.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: It also
has been observed in dogs who do not get enough quality time
with their humans and/or exercise.