Great Dane Urinating in other Houses
Great Dane Urinating in other Houses
by Brian LeBlanc
(Salem, Maine, USA)
Our 6 month old great dane, Diesel, has been housebroken since the first week he came home. He rarely has accidents in our home. Recently, as in the past 2 months, he has been peeing in other peoples houses. He can be left alone at our home for as much as 8 hours without an accident. He has been to many of our friend’s homes because we try to bring him everywhere we go. He doesn’t pee in all of their homes, just certain ones, but we cannot determine a pattern. The only thing they all had in common was that the homes he peed in did not have pets. That said, he has been to homes without pets and has not peed. Last night we took him to my girlfriend’s parents house, where he’s been MANY times. They have watched him for us on numerous occasions. Well, he walked in, went right over to her father, lifted his leg and peed on him. He’s never lifted his leg to pee, and certainly has never peed on anyone! What could be some of the things that make him do this, and how can we stop it? He had just peed before he came in, also. We always let him pee before we bring him inside, and he usually does it shortly after we go inside. We are very conscious about letting him out and he lets us know when he needs to go which is why this peeing indoors thing is baffling me.
Our Response
Hi Brian thanks for the question – yes it can be baffling sometimes with our furry friends. Ok the first thing is that I assume that your dog has no health problems and has been checked by your vet. Ok now we have discovered that everything is ok we can begin…My belief is that your MALE dog is exhibiting some behavior problems due to a case of puberty.
Your dog is going through a period in his life where his hormones are very active and he is becoming sexually mature – and cocking his leg and peeing in places where he wouldn’t normally is actually quite normal at this age. By peeing on your girlfriends Father (who is a Male – get the picture) he is letting people know he’s around and trying to prove his dominance. You need to remind him that you are the boss and the pack leader. Do this by eating first, walking through the door first, feed your dog on the floor and not on a higher level than you, don’t let him sleep with you etc. Remember you are the alpha male not Diesel! Your dog will grow out of this.
For more information take a look at our section (copy and paste into your browser) https://www.pawdiet.com/blog/puppy-behavior-4.html as this will give you more info and tips on how to tackle this.
Hope this helps.
