[woodog]

Hi

We have an almost 2 year old neutered male pug named Oliver. We raised him from a puppy and took him to puppy school and a follow up obedience class. He quickly learned potty training and we have never had any problems with him. Since we've had him he has basically been by my side the whole time. I took him to work with me and he was rarely ever left alone. We disciplined him from day one and let him know that we "hoomans" were/are the boss!

One dog is great, but two dogs are even better! Soon after Oliver's 1st birthday we decided that we wanted a playmate for him. We saw how much he loved the other dogs at school, etc... and knew he would love having a friend.

So back in April, we adopted a 2 year old neutered male pug named Obe from pug rescue. The rescue folks gave us a 2 week trial to see how Obe would get along in our family, but after 2 days we knew we were keeping him. Oliver and Obe got on like fire! Oliver was (and still is) in "7th heaven". They play so well together and truly are brothers.
When they are together you can just see the love they have for each other.

When we first got Obe, I made sure to treat Oliver as Top Dog in the house: I fed Oliver first, collard him first, leashed first, treated first... etc. I wanted to make sure Obe knew that Oliver was #1. On the other hand, I monitored Oliver for any signs of jealousy or any other odd behavior, but nothing emerged. They just fell into sync like they had been buddies forever.

So around August, I'm discovering that Oliver is marking/peeing all over the house. Mostly on my bedding. I have yet to catch him in the act so all I can do is keep the doors to the bedrooms closed. The dogs are always outside so there is no excuse that he/ they weren't let out to go potty. Most importantly, my dogs don't boss me around; they know that I am the boss and they listen to me even more so than my husband. I am known as the disciplinarian.

From what I have read here on other posts, I am assuming that Oliver is marking his territory. But, why now? Obe has been here for almost 5 months. And, both dogs get a ton of attention. I don't work so they are home with me or are going with me on errands etc... I am perplexed by the behavior. So do I shower even more attention on Oliver? :confused:

I welcome any thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks,
Wendy

[Emland]

My sister got a pug from a rescue group and he had the same problem. No matter what she tried she could not get him to stop marking. His favorite spots were the living room curtains and the sofa skirt. She ended up having to make him a belt lined with a feminine sanitary pad. He got the nickname Sumo-Pug from the odd outfit. I know she will be thrilled if anyone has a suggestion on how to stop it.

[labman]

Although a dog's personality and temperament are largely determined by genetics and socialization before 12 weeks, it is not mature until 3 years old. It sounds like you understand the importance of leadership and have been doing a good job. It does sound like a typical challenge from a maturing dog. Why now, it is just common at that age. What to do about it. Well you can buy rather than make a belly band. You could try stronger leadership. Are you doing everything you will find at Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss RubyPitbull has some good experience in rehabilitating dogs too.