Hi there - please help. I can't register just yet as I'm borrowing a champdoggers computer at work. My 10 month old male intact dog has in the last week started to wee on strangers' legs and I am very concerned that one day I will be punched, sworn at etc and our dog will be hated in the neighbourhood. We don't let him wee everywhere while he is on the lead, only when he is running about and we have reasonable recall powers on walks [except as we just found out, in parks where there are football games]. The weeing has happened when we are on walks and stop to talk to other dogs/and owners and in a split second he has weed on the person's leg. The other day he ran off to join a football game and our recall powers totally failed - he then weed on a leg before I had a chance to get him away. He has also now started weeing when on the lead when my back is turned on visits to Pets at Home and it is too late to catch him.

He is usually a lovely dog and I have always thought myself a considerate dog owner so I am quite ashamed and want to stop it before it gets to be a regular occurrence. I think I can be on the look out for it and will have time to tell him off when we are standing with potential victims but is there anything I can do when he has run off and done it in the distance - he has been so good off the lead until now.
I also don't want to neuter him and I hope there is something I can do to stop this if possible. Interestingly he does not shag legs or any other object, only the odd friend dog and never when on walks with me.
regards
Rosalyn

Hi Rosalyn,
Sorry but this did make me laugh a bit!
Unfortunately it sounds as if your dog is going through one of those stages.
When my male learnt to cock his leg (at about the same age as yours), I couldn't even walk him up the lane without him peeing on every tree, stick, blade of grass, you name it & it got peed on.
It was as if he had to practice his new trick everywhere!
Seriously though, he is merely marking his territory & letting everyone know he is around. This is one of the disadvantages of having an entire male.
The only solution (if you don't want him castrated) is to hold him closer to you when greeting people & be prepared to pull him away if he attempts to pee on them. Also you could try distracting him with treats, toys etc. when in these situations.

I'd love to introduce him to my in-laws! :D

This post reminded me of our Great Dane that we had when we were growing up. His name was Spencer, and he was huge!! My Dad and I were out walking him one day off the lead as he never wandered very far. walking through the park we saw a local lad who was well known as a trouble maker and was always picking on the children, pinching their sweets,pushing them about and generally bullying them.Well this particular day he was sat under a tree with his back against the trunk, enjoying something that he had probably just stolen from a child, Spencer was trotting around the park sniffing and minding his own business when he encountered the boy under the tree. The boy shouted at him to "go away" so with that Spencer went round the back of the tree cocked his leg and wee'ed all over the boy and walk away. Well, I laughed so hard that I thought that my sides were going to split. Spencer had never done it before, and never did it again but he could not have picked a better person to do it to :D

I second that Taffy!!! :D :D Shirl

It sounds like he is being a typical teenage git! At that age he will have about 3 times the adult amount of hormone surging round his body, and he's marking anything that'll stand still long enough! It's a real pain, but will settle down as he matures into a "Man" (not words you often see in the same sentence - sorry chaps ;) )

When he's on the lead and you're talking to people, you could try getting him to "sit" - he can't cock his leg then! For the rest, I think you're going to have to practice recall - it's never wasted.

Good luck! :)

Hi,
We were at an open show the other week and saw a lady with 4 papillions waiting to
have their photo taken.Her back was turned and one of her dogs was close to a fence.
When along came a large musterlander cocked his leg on his side of the fence
and must have emptied a gallon load on her dog.Too late for the owner to anything
he just walked off killing himself laughing.

Well I know you should not laugh,poor dear must have spent ages grooming them
but I laughed so much I nearly missed my class :-D :-D

Briony