Hello to all,

I trust that many of you have found the most marvelous solutions to your males marking all over the house when your females are in heat.  I wish I could say that I had.  Sometimes I almost believe they are playing games with me.  No sooner do I wipe up, than the little "comments" are back again on the corners of everything.  EVERYTHING receives a "comment", even a door left open or a new toy on the floor, whatever!  And you almost never catch them in the act, do you!  Any ideas or successes? 
I want to add that my breed is a small, companion breed.

My solution, I choose not to own males

Seriously I would not allow the males loose without strict supervision and only in rooms not frequented by the bitches while in season.

You could got the American route with Belly Bends.

Thing is:  My house has two floors.  The main floor is open livingroom and kitchen giving onto the garden, the upstairs has three bedrooms.  So it's not possible to keep the males separate, as I cannot relagate them to the upstairs.  I've got the belts (custom-made, I'll have you know!), and I use them sometimes (with pads in them), but the problem there is that they pee in them, and so you have to spend all day changing them, otherwise it becomes very unsanitary.  I can't supervise the males all day, as I am alone!  You can't win for losing...! At least it is not like that all the time.  When the females go out of heat, it all calms down.

Because my house also does not lend itself to keeping males and females totally separate (you have to go from living room into kitchen and then to outside) is the reason I keep only bitches.

I always wondered how on earth anyone keeps belly bands or even bitch pants on without them being either taken off or soiled.  Never would use either.

With my won breed I have only ever had one single male here at a time, and he was told off even if he looked like marking, as he was here to mate a bitch there was no frustration or completion.

I just couldn't' put up with the hassle of both sexes in the house with bitches in season, too much risk of an accidental mating as I don't live alone.

I also have a toy breed.  I have both males and females.  2 x 4ft crates in the kitchen, 1 on top of the other.  In season bitches in the top crate and boys in the bottom crate.  Bitches are not allowed out until boys have been crated and locked in.  Boys go up the garden and play with non in season bitches once the other girls are in lock down. 

I get asked what I do when the boys fight.  My answer has always been "Any growling to be done and I'll do it."  The boys normally lick each others faces and sleep.  I do a 1 hour turn around.  This has worked for me for many years. 

I know this isn't possible for Barbara given the size of her breed.

Dear JeanSW,

It is interesting how each one solves the probs, and I see that it has a lot to do with one's breed and one's house!  I am pretty successful with the belts and the panties, which, as I mentioned, are custom-made by a person in Germany who does this for breeders.  The pants TIE on,  you put the tail in first and then tie the top of the pants to the bottom on each side with the built-in ties.  This way, it is almost impossible for the pants to come off.  (I give that "almost" a lot of respect.)  For double protection, I use the belts on the males (I have two males).  So it is a circus when it is time to go outdoors in the garden, but I do it.  I admit to getting pretty sick of it by the time the whole thing is over.  The best was when Felicia was in heat just some weeks ago.  She would not allow Hoagy to even think of mounting her, and Hoagy, who is dominant over Robin, did not allow Robin to even think of mounting her!  So all I had to do when I wanted the deed done, was to let Robin and Felicia outdoors alone together, and they immediately took full advantage!  Felicia is now great with child, which is what I had hoped.  Naturally I kept the whole scene under tight supervision, but it was amusing not to need the pants and belts for once.  Luckily my two males are very attached to each other and the best of friends, so that helps.  With Lulu, who was also recently in heat and who I hope is also pregnant (3 weeks behind Felicia), it was another story, as she was willing to stand for either male until the cows came home, so I had to make good use of the pants and the belts!  It's so wonderful when the stress dies down at long last and the marking as well!

> I know this isn't possible for Barbara given the size of her breed.

I know in a lot of breeds including mine you could not keep the males together peaceably in the same house with a bitch in season.

Those I know with both sexes and multiple males have to take special care that they never need to compete (in their minds) for breeding rights.

> but the problem there is that they pee in them, and so you have to spend all day changing them, otherwise it becomes very unsanitary

THIS is why I don't do things like belts, sanitary pads etc.etc. simply because for the average owner, they can't change them often enough.

We had entire males and bitches under the same roof, and our girls were upstairs when in season - the only place there was any 'cross-over' at all was the foot of the stairs - I'd let my in season girls out front to do their biz (with me right there!) and everybody else out back.   I had to wipe the floor at the foot of the stairs after each 'outing' to lower the angst with the males.   But I can honestly say NONE of them ever marked.    Needless to say when the girls were in season, it wasn't easy - leaping barriers and making absolutely sure nobody got upstairs!   They had their crate up there, open but within our ex-pen.   Double barrier.   I was home pretty much all the time apart from exercising when the bitches were shut in their crate(s) and the door to the bedroom actually shut.   Without proper kennelling, outside, it can be difficult and for that reason, apart from others, my retired bitches were always spayed so they didn't keep having seasons!!!

Just to add the wiping the floor foot of the stairs was only to prevent the boys standing over the drips - it didn't stop them (scent hounds - as if!) knowing full when the status of the bitches........

I'm afraid all this is par for the course, with having entire both genders!

Agree with everything that has already been written. Life has been a lot easier in my house since my entire girls were spayed. The only grumbles now are over food! Marking by my entire boys when a bitch was in season was something that we just accepted. We had no marking outside of these times. Are your boys normally clean in the house when you don't have a bitch in season?
Like others have mentioned we used a system of some in crates and some out, tedious but it works.

> Are your boys normally clean in the house when you don't have a bitch in season?

Other than for a medical reason, yes.   I can't vouch for what might happen should we go over the normal 4 - stretching to 5 on the odd occasion - hours we leave them for however    If this q. is for me.

Sorry meant this question for original poster

> Needless to say when the girls were in season, it wasn't easy

Your boys, like mine, were probably at their worst during quite a short time when they knew the bitches were ready.  My boys, although crated, were competition for a male choir.    Singing in unison, and it was awful.