# Lifting his leg on people



## Jazzdog (Dec 22, 2011)

Cooper's my first male dog, so I'm unfamiliar with this one. 

Yesterday an older gentleman came to our house to give me a quote on some fence work. While we we're standing around discussing things, my 13 week old, Cooper, was sitting almost on his shoes, seemingly being friendly. However, I caught Cooper, probably 4 or 5 times, standing and lifting his leg on the guy. Each time I immediately pulled Cooper away and told him no, but he kept doing it. Luckily, the guy was pretty old and I don't think he noticed it, but was pretty embarrassing just the same. Was this a dominance thing?

It should be said that Cooper is obviously just a puppy, and still squats to pee. I'm not sure at that age they can even pee with their leg up anyway. Also, it was pretty cold outside, and I could tell that Cooper was cold and tired (we had just got back from a decent off leash romp at a large field). So maybe he was just out of whack.

One other thing, while playing that night, I'm pretty sure he did the same thing with me. He also growled (for the first time) at my wife (two times) when she attempted to remove him from the sofa to take him outside. Also, growled at my son when he walked by him while eating a bone. He also barked like crazy when some friends came to the door (first time for that, too). So all in all, yesterday was not the best day. Hopefully he just had an "off" day.

The growling and barking thing I can deal with. The leg lifting on people has me perplexed. Any suggestions?


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/09/vizslas-and-marking.html

It's a male thing you'll have to watch and stop. You'll have to watch this for a few years. Seems Bailey stopped doing that around 2 1/2.

Also look out for expensive car or truck aluminum rims while standing around vehicles. The urine will discolor the aluminum and some of those rims are expensive!

RBD


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## polkan (Dec 29, 2011)

Here's my two cents, in no particular order, with regard to growling when moved and when chewing a toy. I'm sure others will have different ideas and may even disagree.

- As a general principle, the dog has to associate an approaching person, especially the owner with something good. I would recommend strongly against grabbing him after he growls at being moved or snatching the bone away or punishing him

- It would also be a very good idea to have your wife and kid participate in training, especially doing things like asking him to sit before giving him the bone or toys or treats. The point of this is to make sure that the leader-follower dynamic is present with all family members (it probably is, so I'm just saying this as something to keep an eye on)

1. Growling when being moved

My suggestion would be to start teach him to jump on (Hup) and off (Off) the same place where he objects to being moved from, during the time when he's active and playful. It would be great if your wife could participate in that training too. You can use treats or toys as lure/rewards, etc and if he gets on bed and furniture, then you should extend this training to those locations too. I would focus on this until it becomes fluid, reflexive and when he responds to all family members. 

Why this method? When these commands become reflexive, the dog will offer that behavior voluntarily without getting into a mental state that generates growling. By following that command, they're automatically "following" you and are cooperating, as opposed to protecting their comfort.

The litmus test of this approach is a dog that's half asleep and still jumps of the coach as if automatically.

2. Growling over the bone (food guarding)

In my view, it originates from the same source (protecting comfort). So I would recommend against chasing, snatching away the bone, punishing. And - against feeding table scraps that he carries away to eat.

One way to solve this (and best use when he's still a puppy) is to condition him that there will be a gain, not a loss, if someone comes close while he's chewing on a bone.

A common technique is reducing portion size at meal time, then approaching him frequently while he's eating and throw the remaining kibble into the bowl, then walking away, coming back and adding more, etc. 

If he's growling while in possession of other objects (toys, etc), I would suggest training "take it" and "leave it" and be based on reward, especially highly desired food reward. It's usually done by exchanging a treat for the item. This training can be expanded to add "Sit" after "Leave it", depending on how much time and desire you have to condition this response. When you see progress, you start introducing items of progressively higher value (not forgetting to match your treats), including the really prized possessions like the bone. 

The really big debate around training against these things is understanding what's causing it. Many people believe this is dominance-related, but in my opinion it's the loss of comfort that the dog is trying to protect.

Good luck.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Yes this is a habit 2 break-think about it as my vet told me-shoes and tires pick up a world of scent-pups are just marking there territory


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Stop this immediately! There is a dog at our dog park who does this and everyone has been pee'd on at least once. His owner sits & laughs about it (grrrrrrr!!).

It's a dominance behavior. Show him gently that humans are the boss.


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## Jazzdog (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanks for the responses.

I guess I was just surprised that it could be a dominance thing at this age (13 weeks). I can see it if he was trying to show this on a small child, but to do it on an adult stranger, who has dogs and wasn't showing any nervousness or anything, seemed kind of strange. That along with the other agressives behaviors all displayed on the same day had me a little concerned.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Jazzdog.

He is just learning his place in the world. Be calm, be assertive, be his friend. Don't let him get away with anything inappropriate with calm discipline. NEVER yell or get upset. Just let him know what is and what is not acceptable behavior in the human / dog world.

You and your dog will be great.

RBD


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## laurita (Jun 12, 2011)

Jazzdog,
I had the same issue with my male and it was SO embarrassing. I didn't realize that pups mark at that young an age. It's a very natural, albeit annoying habit, and it especially happens when dogs smell the scent of other dogs in the home.

Here's some great info on it that I used myself:
http://aspcabehavior.org/articles/6/Urine-Marking-in-Dogs-.aspx

When I took my pup to a friend's house he sniffed something on the ground and proceeded to lift his leg and sprinkled my friend who was standing next to him. If he's at that age, you just have to watch him and try to distract him when he's in a place with other dogs or if someone comes over who has dogs. Even if they don't have dogs, if they for instance take their shoes off, those shoes are foreign objects with other smells not of the home and they are fair game, so make sure that shoes and purses, etc, are off the ground and away from his line of fire. Also, if you see him sniffing around, get his attention immediately. Yelling, punishing, showing him who's boss will do very little here. Many times the dogs look like they don't have a clue what they're doing themselves. Mine always looked like he was in a trance which made it all very bizarre looking. If you're planning on keeping your V intact, I believe they have little "undies" that they can wear so that the lifting of the leg doesn't result in anyone falling victim to it! Good luck!


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

The leg lift needs to be stopped the second in starts. Relocate the dog until he gets the point. It shouldn't take long. Growling with food can be curtailed by playing "leave it" with food and biscuts. At no time should a dog growl at his owner unless asked to or in a rough play situation if he is teased (I would try to avoid it).


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