Dogs

my male dog lifts his leg and poops on trees but only when we are out for a walk (cattle dog) My other one a female lifts her leg to pee on the walks - i think it is a marking thing

I had a male dog who never lifted his leg to pee until another male dog was brought to my home and he saw him doing it. He has done it ever since. BTW - I'd prefer he DIDN'T lift his leg! :)

If you do have a dog who lifts his leg and marks in the house - check out belly bands at http://shop.PawsToAdmire.com - these will save your sanity!

I have a female dog that lifts her leg to pee. I think it is meerly a dominance thing, because she started after we got a puppy companion for her. The younger dog doesn't lift unless we're out walking and he marks the park trees.

My girlfriend and I moved in with her parents with our little yorkie(female) and a month later we got a male shit-zu and well he is 6 months old now and its been about a month since his balls dropped. Well ever since then my g/f parents dog who is a 3 year old male rat terrier have been peeing on our things more and been acting strange. Could there be any connection beween the rat terriers behavior and the male shit-zu's ball's dropping, since their both not fixed?

Our male dog Alex (aka Ali-oops) squats, but only lifts his leg when is not is not peeing. How do you figure?

My male dog does the same thing but he won't ever learn because I have a female dog and he learned to do that because I had a old femle when he was jus a puppy and hes been doing it ever since she past.

is it true that(dom)males lift there legs higher then(sub)mals?

Does anyone have an answer to the question???
(Not another story...)

My little white male dog does left up his leg when he goes to the bathroom but he goes all over the back of his front legs. The back of his legs are always yellow and when I give him a bath his legs are still yellow . What can I use to get his legs white?

I'm glad I found this site.I was googling to find out if my seven month old Mastiff/PitBull mix was normal on the squatting to pee thing.I have had many dogs in my lifetime, but all girls, so I was concerned.It sounds like it's just a dog's preference now, I'm glad my squatting Oreo isn't the only one.Thanks to all, I have no worries now!

at our dog parks, some of the male dogs will lift a leg and pee on a person, if the person is standing still. any suggestions as to why this happens, how to make it stop?

Hello all!I have a bit of a problem..I have labs Max 5 and Lola 2 both fixed..Max has been a wonderful dog up until a month ago..He has started barking very loudly and for a long time if someone knocks on the door(never did this before)and seems to be overly protective of the house to even people he knows...He drools all over the place (vet says he smells something good)but he gets it everywhere and the worse part is he has starting peeing everywhere and I mean everwhere he just walks around peeing like its nothing he doesn't squat or lift his leg just walks like normal where ever he feels (has been housebroken for years) we took him to the vet and everthing checked out well they thought maybe something was wrong with his kidneys or bladder but all clear..Ok so then he started trying to mount our female but they are both fixed and she wants none of that plus she has severe hip dysplasia and he is 90lbs and she is only 50...We do know that our neighbor has 3 female pugs who are NOT fixed and one or more of them was in or is now in heat and our backyards are just seperated by a fence, could this be why? I can't come up with anything he has NEVER done any of these things before...Max was fixed at 8 months...Anyone have any clues??

I am baffled. I live on a farm and never could stand going to the neighbors and having their male dog pee on all four tires of my fresh washed vehicle in the first couple minutes I was visiting. I would be very happy with a male dog that did not lift his leg. It is not a behavior, that of lifting his leg, that I would want to encourage. In fact I would want just the opposite. Once they discover shooting that stuff in any direction but straight down you have opened up a whole bunch of new areas that you have to say "NO" to. Heavens I sit on the pot myself instead of splashing up the seat for the girls and I do not think it left any emotional side effects. (No I am not going there) Anyway, be happy your male dog does not lift his leg. It is showing great respect for you the owner. If he lifts his leg he is showing you who is in charge and that is not what you want......Period

I have a American Pit Bull Terrier he is 13 months old and has not lift his legs as well. After reading what everyone has posted I kind of understand but it still bothers me. But I do have another question are male dogs supposed to cry all the time? He always cries doesnt matter if he is out of his house or not....Does anyone have any advice about male dogs crying?

I have a black Shepherd/Lab mix and he is 13 months old. He has yet to raise his leg to pee. I was worried at first, but since reading these posts, I am fine with it. He is healthy and it doesn't seem to bother him at all.

yes, the only reason why a male dog squats vs. leg lifting is they learn from other male dogs. simply put if they dont hang with that many male dogs they may never lift.

The breeder I bought my lab through stated "if you neuter your pup early, the dog will not learn to lift its leg to urinate." However, my lab is 10 months old, and I have not neautered him yet. My vet wanted me to wait until he lifts his leg to urinate. I decided he will be neutered around his first bday, whether or not he learns to lift his leg to urinate. You know, if he never lifts his leg to urinate, thats fine with me. There could be worse traits my dog could have. I don't think he will develop a complex, when he sees other male dogs lifting there legs, when they urinate.

My 18 month old Bichon will lift his leg and pee when he is at doggy day care. I have tried training him outside but he still relies on the puppy pads. I feel like he will never be trained. A failure I am. Is there anything that he can wear to prevent him from lifting his leg inside the house at doggy daycare? We use a doggy diaper but all I see are the dog belly bands which do the same.
Thank you. He does not lift his leg at home, however he did at my daughters house a few times.
Barbie

My 6 month old boston terrier still squats and there is no reason for it. Biggie has never been put in a crate, has not been fixed (and believe me, he needs to be, so hormone levels are probably not the issue), is the only dog in the house and is in fact the alpha when it comes to his relationship with the cat, and has been around other male dogs that lift their legs to pee. I would be fine with it except sometimes he squirts all over the place, including his front legs. i was told that eventually they will figure it out, so I guess it's just a waiting game for now.

Our 1 year old male mini poodle was a squatterand then suddenly started lifting his leg the day he turned 1 y.o. He was lifting his leg every time, everywhere.... for about 10 days....

In few days we figured out that his "manly" behavior was caused by our 4 y.o. female poodle being in heat. He was "crazy" trying to "hump" anything anytime and very hyper.

We urgently took him to get neutered not being sure such behaviour would ever stop.
In 3-4 days after his neuter he went back to squating while peeing and became much calmer since our female dog wasn't in heat anymore.

Maybe a male dog's behavior can be caused by hormones (or certain hormonal changes)? So surrounding affects behaviour and the habits.

Another thought is their place in "a pack" - who is the dominant, "the boss".
In our case our female dog behaves as if she is the boss in our family...

Can't help but tell my tale also...I have 4 yo lab/chow mix who squats almost all the time! reading all the input from others before me on this site has been quite interesting. I agree that most of the suggestions do seem reasonable. However -
My dog does not fit any of those criteria...The only time I see him lift a leg is if he is next to a tree or fence etc...I have had him since he was 3 weeks old (as well as his 5 siblings- I fostered them --I have been fostering puppies for rescue organizations for about 5 yrs...I have seen many puppies/dogs.) He was neutered at 8 weeks old...has spent ALOT of time w/ other dogs (@ dog parks & the many fosters that have stayed here) and he was NEVER crated. He is VERY dominant...so why he has never completely transitioned into the leg lift, has been an idle curiousity to me. I had thought that perhaps it was because he had pulled a musle (or something) as a puppy and then as 'puppies' tend to do, he ran on it before it was completely healed...that was a guess on my part and now I have my doubts about that after reading all these posts! Who knows? Maybe all of our dogs are just completely at ease and confident with who they are, that they don't feel it is necessary to conform... Y'know- like the man who is confident enough to be able to wear a pink shirt?? ha ha?

Mister Noblet is a year old and still squats. He's been crate trained since day one. I adopted him from the Humane Society when he was, supposedly, 8 weeks old. He weighed just over 4 lbs. at the time. They told me he was a German Shepard / Pit Bull Mix. (I thought he would compliment my 6 yr. old Pit Bull mix) A year later, he weighs just over 15lbs.

Long story short...I probably adopted him at just over 2-3 weeks old...he probably got neutered far too young...and the vet now thinks he's probably mixed with a toy breed of dog. I've given up on the lifting of the leg. I'm just happy that he was able to be rescued, and survived being taken away from his mother that young.

(All that said, watching little guy attempt to dominate the 65lb pit bull is hilarious. She gives him a look and he bows out).

My vet said there's not a problem with the squatting...at this point, I just assume it's part of his charm.

My boyfriend and I have a sheltie named Duke hes 3 months shy of his 2nd birthday. He also squats while he urniates we've always wondered why. My boyfriend had a sheltie growing up who also squatter. We just thought it must be a sheltie thing.

I have a male jack russell who is about 7 months old. He squats to pee too. He was neutered at about 6 mos. I have no problem with the fact that he squats to pee, because it is very orderly. He doesn't pee on anything or on himself so Im happy. I wonder if it means anything to other dogs, but I really dont think so because he gets along well with others and isnt picked on, so maybe thats just what he likes. He's crate trained too so maybe the full bladder theory on here is holding up. Happy squatting to all.

I have two dogs, an 8-year-old springer spaniel/lab mix and a 2.5-year-old field bred springer spaniel. The lab mix was almost 2 before he started lifting his leg and the springer is still squatting. I usually take them out separately, but the spaniel has seen the older dog lift. I just thought it was something that younger dogs grew into, but now I'm not so sure. Personally, I'm not bothered by the spaniel not lifting as he doesn't stop and mark as much as the lab does on our walks.

well i was gonna take him in yesteryday as they were closed on monday, but its seems as though after i had posted here, he started peeing normal again, the flow is good, and hes lifting his leg...

if it starts up again i will rush him to the vet...

good luck getting your dawgies to lift there leg

Kevan -
Yep, I'm thinking a call to the vet is in order here. It could be something more serious. Changes in the flow of urination are usually a sign of something more serious going on.

well ive got a whole different problem...

my dog a mini-pincher whos 1.5yrs old was peeing lifting his leg, he was raising his leg pretty high which we all thought was funny... well up until about a week ago he lifted, now he stands, sometimes squats, but sometimes he lays down and just pees... in the past week he hasnt lifted his leg once...

ive been thinking maybe something is wrong with him, but he goes poop just fine squating like every other dog(he used to lift his leg while pooping it was something ive never seen before)... which makes me think something is up... he doesnt seem to be in pain...

also his pee sometimes dribbles out, other times it flows free and normal... could something be wrong with him? is it time to visit the Vet?

To Christine - After getting my first two dogs within two years, I say to you "Good Luck." Having a new dog is much like having a new baby in the house. Short nights and lots of messes. Hang in there, because your patience will be rewarded with a loyal friend. Check out the crate training discussion on this site - it has valuable information about house-breaking dogs. One of my dogs never lifts his leg, and I actually prefer this since he doesn't try to pee on everything when we go for walks.

When my dogs were puppies, I took them outside frequently and praised them when they did their thing outside. Also, long walks/exercise may help get your dog to sleep longer, but I still had to wait a long 10 months before my younger dog would let me sleep past 5 am.

This site has a lot of great advice, and there are many good books to help you make your new dog a well-trained member of the household.

I have a two year old Jack Russell, he started peeing with his leg up at about six months, at about a year I started finding poop stuck about one foot above the ground on my fence. I thought maybe it was shooting out of him like a cannon. Turns out he poops with his leg up tool weird! Has anyone ever heard of a male dog doing that?

I have a 2 month male Shih Tzu. He won't even squat or lift his leg up, he just stand there and pees, EVERYWHERE.I don't know how to train him to even go in the front or backyard. (He is my first dog) He isn't neutered and I've tried to "wet" his pee on the newspaper but he still won't go on it. I've had him for only about 1 week. So i wanted to know if someone had some advice for me!

Another thing is, he keeps on waking me up at 7 in the morning. Even if i keep it awake the whole day it only sleeps from 9p.m. to 7a.m. I keep him in a different room at night but he just won't sleep for any longer. Any advice??

I have a yellow lab who is 4 years old. He has always been submissive but very (sometimes overly) friendly, was fixed at 4 months, has always been our only dog, NEVER kenneled, has a huge back yard, has trees to lift on, but I have only seen him lift his leg maybe 3 times his whole life.

I have a dog I recently adopted from a rural California shelter. He was a stray, probably his whole life (2 years) before we took him in. He appears to be some mix of Kelpie and possibly GSD. He just looks like a big (55 pounds) lanky Kelpie. Anyway, the day he was neutered was the day we took him home. That night, he peed several times with his leg up. Ever since, he has always peed like a girl. I'm not at all concerned about it. As long as he pees, and it's outside, I think it's great. It's also nice that he no longer feels the need to mark EVERYTHING. I've fostered male dogs who have to pee a little on everything. After the first day/night, my Cal just goes once, like a girl.

Tammy -
The best advice I can offer is covered here:
How To Stop Your Dog From Peeing On The Carpet

Good luck.

I had a male pug that I gave to my sister because he was peeing all over the house. I thought that it was because I had females in the house. But he did the same thing over at my sister house and she has know other dogs. NOW HE IS BACK HOME because she can't deal with him anymore. My pug pee's and poo's all over the house now and he is 1year. What can I do to stop him PLEASE HELP ME??????

thanks for the commentary, i have a 15 mo. old german shepherd that squats, and its very annoying because he wets the front legs. i hate having to wipe him every time, and his front legs smell. my breeder told me to pee on trees to teach him (i live in a rural area) but that didn't work either. any ideas are appreciated, thanks.

i only read one post on here that's close to my issue with my dog. my 12 month old standard poodle, bela...(he's a male and it's bela like the band bela fleck and the flecktones) pees ALL OVER his front leg. He did it both when he was just a squatter and now that he's a lifter. VERY ANNOYING. we had to give him a sanitary cut down the back of his front legs (thats when they cut the hair very short - usually just around the privates to keep it all clean). does anyone know of any type of poncho for peeing or something that protects your dog's coat?

on another note- our dog learned to lift his leg from our very dominant shih tzu male - who interestingly enough went 5 years without lifting his leg until we got bela a year ago.

My 10 month old lhasa apso mix was neutered at 5 months old and was always a squatter...until recently. Over the last couple weeks, he started lifting his leg on our walks. He tries to pee on everything. It's quite funny actually b/c he still doesn't really have the whole balance thing down, so he'll often tumble over and pee all over himself. I'm really hoping he gets it soon b/c I'm tired of cleaning pee off him. I thought he'd be a squatter for life, but I guess it wasn't meant to be, although, every now and then, he still squats when he's lazy and/or tired.

Oh and one more thing, our friends lab mix is almost 4 years old and he still squats to pee, so every dog is different.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to share your experiences with all of us who are wondering why our male dogs still squat to pee!

I hope that others will continue to share their stories as well...

I figured that since I originally posted the question here, it might be helpful if I tried to piece together why my male dog probably still squats -- based on the valuable input here (especially from Ashley, Cyndi, Mary, and "humane society kennel worker").

1. Yes, my dog has been in a kennel (whenever he's alone in the house) since Day One. The idea that "if they hold their pee for a while it is a lot less taxing on their legs and balance to use all four legs" sounds fairly reasonable to me. Especially since this dog spent most of his time in a crate during those very early potty-training days of puppyhood -- when we both worked full-time outside the house. So I can see how he might have become accustomed to peeing this way to release a full bladder.

2. Yes, this dog is definitely the most submissive dog I've ever had. Sweetest dog in the world, but quite submissive in his "dog world" with our other 2 dogs (and even other people).

3. Yes, this dog has seen other male dogs exhibiting this squatting behavior. Of our three dogs, this male squatter was the lowest on the totem pole; the oldest (alpha) dog was 15yrs old and had resorted to squatting to pee about the age of 13 for no reason; and the middle dog at 4yrs old has always lifted his leg to pee.

4. All of my male dogs (3) were neutered at the same age (6 mos.) Two of them lifted their legs to pee for most of their life; the youngest (at 1-1/2yrs old still never has).

So... my male squatter appears to have several of the characteristics for dogs who don't lift their leg to pee. I guess he's just destined to be a squatter for life. Not that there's anything wrong with that. :o)

I look forward to reading more people's experiences with this as well as other opinions for why this behavior might exist in some male dogs and not others.

Thanks to all!

Dogs that are kept crated will squat or just stand due to lack of space for lifting most of the time. Then when they are either taken out of the crate or no longer crated at all, they are accustomed to peeing this way, except for the most dominant males. Also if they hold their pee for a while it is a lot less taxing on their legs and balance to use all four legs. I've seen dogs that pee standing, then lift one leg, then stand, then lift the other leg...
Another part of it is the submissive thing, but that is not always true - I knew a catahoula mix who was really dominant yet I never seen him lift a leg.
The trend seems to be that from puppyhood to at least a year, year and a half old, dogs still squat or stand. I have an 11 month old lab mix (who actually looks remarkably like a taller version of your tenor) who pees to pee standing, and just started peeing for fun on trees and the like this past week after hanging out with my dad's silky terrier who has to pee everywhere. But he still pees for functionality while standing.
And then there's some real characters like a golden retriever I know who is just plain lazy AND submissive and practically sits down while he pees...

I actually wanted the opposite, to have my male dog pee like a girl. I asked the vet this question to see if I can get him to do that and he said no. He also mentioned that since I didn't neuter him when he was a puppy, when he was still squatting, there's no way to reverse it. I was told, I would have a higher chance of keeping the squat if I neutered him when he only knew to squat. So maybe that's the reason your dogs are squatting, because they got neutered early on when they could only squat?

My chow mix used to just stand and pee - no squat, no leg, no nothing. We had to align our sight just right to see if he was even going. Then after we started taking him to the dog park, he learned what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately, this has greatly disrupted our walks as now he likes to lift his leg on EVERYTHING. I wish he had never learned.

We also have a year old basset hound/great dane mix who just squats. Considering he is about 95 lbs. and the top of his head is barely 2 ft. off the ground, I think he needs all four legs to stay upright :)

My Scottish Terrier will be 2 y/o next month and still squats to pee. This is not a problem for me and it certainly doesn't seem to bother him. I was told by a breeder that lifting a leg to pee is a LEARNED process, that pups learn from adult dogs they see urinating. My Scottie came from a puppy mill so he may have been caged and not around other dogs to learn this. Perhaps your male dogs found themselves in the same situation? Maybe they were the only males in a litter?

Ok, so we all have the same problem and this is the only site out there referring to this odd behavior. Well, my 3 year old ACD still squats. It isnt a health issue, at least I dont think, I just wanted him to pee like a boy. Oh well!

Hi I have a 6 month old cocker who shows absolutely no interest in lifting his leg. He's a happy wee dog though so I just also googled to see if it was normal and was reassured by all these messages. So cheers for putting my mind at ease!!!

I have a two year old cocker who pees like a girl too. I googled to find some answers and saw this. I'd love to know if anyone finds any answer!

I have a male german shepherd that is about 13 months old and he still pees like a girl too. If anyone has an answer to this please contact me.

I have the opposite problem. My maltese dog lifts his leg very high to pee and he ends up peeing on his front two legs. Not only is it disgusting, but it turns his white fur yellow on his legs. I end up having to baby wipe him after he pees. I would love to know how to get him to pee like a girl!

To answer your question, I have a yorkie and my mom has two dachshund dogs who pee like girls. It's never been a problem and I always figured (especially for the dachshund) that their legs were too short to lift their legs. My two oldest dogs (I have 4) are females and I always figured that the yorkie and the dachshunds learned to pee from watching them. Perhaps your dog had a littermate who peed that way?

I was going to post the same question about my 18 months old dog..... What's up with that?

Hi Ro -

Nope, I haven't received any answers yet.

Hasn't anyone else experienced this with male dogs before???