Puppy Marking with urine?

[daniel77]

Our now 8 wk old ES dang sure is peeing a bunch. He's probably my 5th male puppy and I can't remember any of the others exhibiting this, if this is what he's doing, anywhere near this soon. First off, he is GREAT about squatting to pee withing two feet of his paws hitting the grass. Later on though, he'll stop and squat again, and again, and again. He even seems to be doing this in strategic locations. Is he just having the urge frequently, like every minute or so? No lifting of the leg or anything like that, just stopping to dribble a drop or two here and there. He hasn't tried to mark, if that is what he's doing, more than a half dozen times per outing, but he does "mark" that many times each outing. What say ya'll?

[jlp8cornell]

Some of those symptoms (frequent urination, dribbling, etc) sound like a possible bladder infection. Is he straining? Does this happen all the time? If so, worth talking to your vet.

[mcbosco]

is he doing that in the house or in the crate?

[daniel77]

He's not doing it in the house or crate. Other than peeing repeatedly, or trying to anyway, when on a walk, he's no different than any other puppy, far as I can tell. I hadn't thought of a bladder infection, but will give my vet a call and see what she thinks. thanks.

[Sharon]

Some of those symptoms (frequent urination, dribbling, etc) sound like a possible bladder infection. Is he straining? Does this happen all the time? If so, worth talking to your vet.

Exactly. UTI

[kerplunk105]

Sounds like a UTI. A would visit the vet.

[mcbosco]

Probably worth a chat with the vet but if a puppy that young is not having accidents in the house or crate then maybe he is just overreacting to praise when he tinkles outside.

Do you notice excessive drinking?

[daniel77]

no excessive drinking. The wife thought of Pavlov too, but I'm not praising all of the tinkles, just the first one. Called one old friend who's a vet and he said could be UT, but hard to say over the phone. My regular vet hasn't called me back yet. Pup is not showing any signs of discomfort whatsoever, so I'm not too worried yet. Just thought it was a bit weird. Thanks for the replies.

[A/C Guy]

Our Duke did that when he was a pup. He was the alpha pup in his litter and when we got him, he would pee every 10' (it seemed). We even joked about it because he would run back in the house and drink as much water as possible (we called it "filling up his tank") and then run outside to pee/ mark. He would fill up his tank whenever he heard me tell the boys to take the dogs out. It was actually quite funny the way he would run to the bowl and suck it dry when he knew he was going out. He has finally settled down a bit and the marking stops when he know it is time to hunt. If there are no accidents in the house, I think it is normal. But, I am no vet and I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night.

[daniel77]

Little update for anyone interested. A bit more time leaves no doubt that an 8-10 wk old alpha male puppy will indeed use urine to mark. Apparently, my leather sandals are now Jelly Bean's possessions.

[BigShooter]

Well, there is the Terminator, the Shermanator, etc. ...but if you tested the urine and it's not a uti, you got the "Urinator" ... good luck with that!

Did you by any chance test for dominance before you picked out your pup? Be sure to give us an update periodically & a couple of puppy photos.

[daniel77]

I didn't do a "dominance test". I did ask the breeder and he said that this pup was one of the dominant ones, which is what I wanted. I personally get along better with a more dominant dog than a more timid one. The breeder had three litters at once, and all of those pups were together in the whelping house after weaning, so having one alpha was improbable.

Anyway, I just thought it was unusual that a pup would have already started this type of behavior this early. He has actually lifted his leg a few times also, although in the middle of the yard. No tires or trees just yet. No recent pics, but that is him at 7 1/2 wks along with my son in my avatar.

[BigShooter]

As is said, "be careful what you ask for ... you just might get it". Sounds like he might end up outside or crated a lot. No use letting him matriculate from leather shoes to the furniture. Cute lookin' feller, looks like a sneaky little "Bandit" to me!

[daniel77]

I agree about him looking like a sneaky little bandit. Bandit is what I would have named him, but my son got that honor and chose Jelly Bean instead. He isn't especially prone to going in the house, if we do our part and take him out at appropriate times. He isn't trying to mark stuff in the house, just has a few spots in the front yard, and along the sidewalk where we walk. I generally don't let him mark along the sidewalk, until we get to the field a little ways down the road from the house. Despite his being a dominant pup, I find him to be very willing to please and very biddable. In fact, he reminds me a lot of a Kelpie (Australian stock dog) I had that was taken from me way too soon. He was unbelievably under control and if you think that means he lacked style or independence, you don't know Kelpies.