Non Stop Marking And Kicking Up Dirt.

[Guest evanderleeuw]

Hello All,

 

I've been having some trouble with Luke since we got him, in that he feels the need to sniff and mark every leaf and glade of grass while on walks and then kicks up dirt after every time peeing. Is there anyway to break this behavior? I don't know if it's because there are tons of other dogs in the area, but he marks non-stop while on walks. If we walk for a mile he wants to stop every about every 10 feet to sniff and mark. He'll mark 15 times a walk and more if I let him (or if he had more urine) and always tears up the neighbors lawns. Even though I try to catch him and keep him moving before he starts to dig up the dirt he'll do it anyway and it goes fling when he does. It's bad enough that he pulls large chunks of lawn up, but he flings it and it hits people's cars and me usually! It's really annoying to stop that much! Anyone else dealing with this?

 

Thanks,

Erik

[Guest FinnsMom]

My boy does the same thing. I"ll usually let him sniff for a few seconds and then give a tug and tell him it's time to move on, or when I think he's done enough marking I'll just keep the leash shorter so he has to walk on the sidewalk beside me. As for the kicking up dirt, one thing I do is when we are walking in a residential area I keep him on the side of me where the boulevard is. I don't like my front lawn poo'd and pee'd on by other dogs so I keep mine off other people's front lawns but let him go on the grassy boulevard. I don't let him kick up the grass on the boulevards, but there is a long stretch of sidewalk full of bushes and trees that we walk a few times a day, it's a popular dog walking stretch (city owned), that I let him have fun on, within reason. A couple of digs and he's done. When he would do it on the boulevards, I would just say no, give a tug, and start walking. It didn't take him long to know that he wasn't allowed to do that there. And he didn't start with the kicking of dirt until about 3 weeks after we adopted him. He is my first Grey but they are really quick to catch on what they can and cannot do.

 

Hope this helps.

[GeorgeofNE]

1) The one with the thumbs holding the leash should dictate the pace and direction of the walk. You do not have to let him stop every time he wants to. 2) I do not let my dog walk on anyone's lawn. I absolutely LOVE dogs, but I would be ticked off if my neighbors were using my lawn as a toilet for their dog, particularly if he's scratching afterward. Again, you control where he goes. 3) It's really to your benefit to let him drain out as much urine as possible, but you also want to get him some real exercise, so what I do is the first few minutes of our morning (before work) walk, I let George do his thing. We take the same route every morning, so he knows where he wants to check his pee mail and leave a reply. Then I tell him, "OK, time to walk!" and we quicken our pace considerably and I do not let him stop until we get to the end of the "going out" route. Then he gets a break to sniff and pee, and we turn around. Same deal. We're walking for the exercise at that point. Our walk terminates in a park, where he then gets 10 minutes of "sniffabouts" where he gets to decide where to go, sniff, pee, etc.

 

While we're walking, he's allowed to urinate on trees that line the street, telephone poles, fire hydrants, but NOT on people's shrubs or lawns. If someone has a patch of mulched area between their lawn/fence and the sidewalk, I will let him poop on the mulch because it's very easy to pick up. If he happens to scratch, I replace it with my foot.

 

I think this routine gives him what he needs in terms of his doggy desire to pee on everything, but also his real physical and mental need to exercise. He then spends 8.5 hours alone, so I don't let him just poke about. He's too fit to be tired from a sniff and pee walk!

[Feisty49]

My suggestion is keep him on a very short leash and if possible, you walk nearer the grass so he's walking in the middle of the sidewalk. Correct him every time he tries to mark with whatever word works for you and pull him away. Obviously he'll have to pee at some point, but it's been my experience that dogs have a certain behavior when they have to go, so keep an eye open for what he does just before a real long pee. :--)

 

One other thing, and I don't mean this in a dominant way, remind yourself that you are in charge of the walk. The walk is for exercise and fun for both of you, but Luke needs direction. It took me a few weeks after I adopted Annie Bella in July 2011 to realize that I was letting her set the tone for the walk. I was letting her walk on this side or that side; letting her pull me just because she wanted to go smell that tree; letting her plant herself just because she .. well who really knows they they plant! LOL Once I started managing the walk, it took only a few days for Annie B to get it -- that we walk nicely, that we aren't rude by pulling, and that heeling is a necessity most of the time. I say most of the time because every dog needs to smell pee mail but it's not a high percentage of the walk.

Edited October 24, 2012 by Feisty49

[Guest Tes623]

Luigi kicks up grass after peeing on our walks. I walk him early in the morning when it's still dark so no one knows it's him. There's an armadillo in our neighborhood that's really been tearing up lawns so that's who gets the blame

[Guest ManyBlessings]

I am waiting for my first grey....and have had girls nearly my entire life. However, we are wanting a boy this time. In reading your post I was thinking it was great he is peeing a lot outside as this might help his potty training inside. If he is wanting to stop that much, could you let him do some, then walk on the side of the street for the main walking time? I know our neighborhood is very quiet most of the time and I can walk in the middle of the street if I need to. Then at the end of the walk let him do his thing again? He might get used to the routine? I don't let our dogs search yards on walks. Even the girls will try at times. They do get used to walking on the sidewalks though. It might just take time and consistency on your part.

Edited October 24, 2012 by ManyBlessings

[Guest sweetpea]

Agree full on with "George" and "Feisty".

 

You set the tone, he will figure it out.

 

Sebastian gets a big bladder emptying pee as soon as we're out the front door, (across the sidewalk in the pee-strip) then it's walking time.

(Sweetpea does the same, but she's not a marker.)

Once we get to our pooping place, everybody poops, then it's more walking time.

Then we get to the sniffabout place, and they can both sniffabout, Sebastian will mark a couple of bushes,

but he's usually out of ammo (or here's where I make sure he is).

Then we walk home.

 

He'll get the hang of it if you're consistent.

 

Good luck,

Buzzy

[Hubcitypam]

You set the pace and stops. I'll let mine pee on the parkway but not in peoples yards...and not on the parkway of pristine well tended yards which are few and far between here in the barrio. We basically have 4 walking routes that I rotate. By far the easiest one for me is down the wide paved alley in the next subdivision.

[Guest evanderleeuw]

Thanks all, we'll start implementing my rules more. Just to clarify when i say lawns I mean the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street...I just consider it people's lawns because they generally take care of them although it is city property.

Although I'm pretty strict about where to walk (he only goes between me and the street and not on peoples actual lawns, shrubs, bushes) Luke can be a stubborn one at times. If he's sniffin something good, a pull and tug isn't good enough to get him going. So I wind up choking him if I pull too much and when you have to do that a lot, the walk becomes unenjoyable and I wind up getting fed up and pulling him home in frustration.

Also I think the way I walk him is different from my wife who is often frustrated by him on walks and probably not as strict as I am. We'll have to get on the same page in term of walk rules and hopefully it will alleviate some of the frustration in time.

[Nichole]

My dogs have "sniff spots" along our walking routes. This is the only time they are allowed to sniff, mark, pee or poop. My foster dogs learn this quickly and even dogs that I have watched in the past remember where the spots are when they come back.

 

Also, if you are letting him stop all of the time, he is not really getting exercise. If you're out for 45 minutes and he sniffs 30 minutes, he is not really getting walked that much.

[Feisty49]

Thanks all, we'll start implementing my rules more. Just to clarify when i say lawns I mean the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street...I just consider it people's lawns because they generally take care of them although it is city property.

Although I'm pretty strict about where to walk (he only goes between me and the street and not on peoples actual lawns, shrubs, bushes) Luke can be a stubborn one at times. If he's sniffin something good, a pull and tug isn't good enough to get him going. So I wind up choking him if I pull too much and when you have to do that a lot, the walk becomes unenjoyable and I wind up getting fed up and pulling him home in frustration.

Also I think the way I walk him is different from my wife who is often frustrated by him on walks and probably not as strict as I am. We'll have to get on the same page in term of walk rules and hopefully it will alleviate some of the frustration in time.

 

With an uncooperative dog who doesn't want to move along, giving a gentle nudge on his shoulder or his rump with your thigh, hard enough to make his feet move, often helps. Usually, Greyhounds will start moving again if their feet are moving, even if it's a forced move by being gently pushed.

[Guest evanderleeuw]

Thanks again for the advice, we'll start asap on the new rules! One more question, how long do you wait before/after feeding to go for a walk? Is there any chance of bloat from walks after/before feeding?

 

Thanks,

Erik

[Guest karilynn]

Can anyone answer why dogs do that thing where they kick up dirt/grass after they mark? My boy does this all of the time and I think it's pretty funny, but I don't really know why he does it? Is it a dominance thing?

[Guest Scouts_mom]

Why do dogs kick up the ground after pooping or peeing? I think it's a left-over instintive bahavior from when they needed to hide their presence from other bigger creatures that might eat them. Or it could be the opposite--spread the poop around so other dogs know this is her/his territory.

 

As to being concerned about bloat if the dog walks too soon after eating--I wouldn't worry about it. Walking isn't that much hard excercise, unlike running. I don't let my dogs run immediately after eating.

[Guest team_tonio]

My boy does the same thing... sometimes it's annoying but mostly I just find it humorous when he gets all huffy and kicking. Certainly he is not allowed to tear up the neighbor's lawns but I take him on the trails in our town a lot so he can scratch and kick and mark whenever and wherever he pleases Maybe you can hustle him along in your neighborhood but take him on trails for a more relaxed walk sometimes.

 

I guess I disagree with most of the posters here... I think it's really good for dogs to be allowed to saunter and sniff - all new and exciting experiences for them. they're dogs! They loovvvve to smell! I do think you need to move them along after awhile but giving them a little leeway in the first part of your walk can't hurt if you have the time. I usually give him the first 10 minutes at his pace then get to walking at a steady pace. That's what works for us.

 

Oh! And when we're walking in the neighborhood, if I think he will mark and kick I get my happy excited voice on and say run, run! and jog away from the area for a quick second. This distracts him and there's no need to yank on his neck to get him to follow me. Works 100% of the time!

[Greydawg]

My Alex does this only when he is showing off for others. He gets full of bravado, looking like both the bull and the bull-fighter.

I assume all that posturing is a wannabe dominance thing, like "don't mess with me, I am a tough guy. See! Now watch THIS. And THIS."

 

If I see it coming, I can prevent the grass/dirt from flying. But if he gets a head-start, I can't make him stop. Sigh.

 

Heisman has never displayed this behavior.

 

 

 

[RedHead]

Easy solution....keep the leash short (but loose and relaxed) and just walk. It is much easier to be proactive this way then to wait until they sniff and then try to pull them away. I do a lot of jogging with my dogs, and they basically go into a working mode when we run which means run and ignore. Dogs are perfectly happy to do this as long as they know the expecations, in fact I think they are happier with a mix of structured walking and free sniffing. My pups still get plenty of sniffing, peeing, kicking opportunities as we have tons of parks and trails, I release them with an "okay!" so they know they can go ahead and do their thing. As soon as we hit the sidewalk again they go back to their jog.

[jamngrey]

It's a scent marking thing feet flick & marking

[Guest jenniferk]

My boy does the same thing, plus while he has his nose down to sniff, he forages for anything edible and usually comes up with chicken bones and rotten food that's tough to get off him (we're still working on "drop it" and "leave it" on walks). I'd originally had a problem with him refusing to walk at all, so I'd been letting him do whatever he wanted on walks. After reading this thread, I started following GeorgeofNE and Feisty49's advice, and it's working! My goal is to work up to what they do, but right now I'm weaving in heel sessions in between letting him sniff and mark, with the goal to only let him sniff at the beginning and end of walks as George does. Thanks for the advice!

[Guest Gemma]

If he digs in his feet (and boy, greys are good at that!), you could try an easy walk harness then you don't have to worry about pulling on his neck so much.

 

I had a foster who loved to kick up dirt after he pooped. I would reprimand him for it (just a sharp UH UH) the very SECOND he started and then would briskly walk him away.

[GeorgeofNE]

Thanks again for the advice, we'll start asap on the new rules! One more question, how long do you wait before/after feeding to go for a walk? Is there any chance of bloat from walks after/before feeding?

 

Thanks,

Erik

 

I keep a very strict schedule just because my dog has a history of pee issues! He also needs to go after he eats--within an hour and not a minute later. Here is my schedule:

 

5:20 AM, alarm goes off. Quick trip outside for George to relieve himself

Inside, breakfast for dog, coffee for me

5:45 AM, "long walkies." (This is our primary walk Monday through Friday)

 

Leave/work all day

 

3:50 PM, arrive home, run like the wind (well, since my hip replacement, walk rapidly with a pronounced limp!) with the dog to relieve himself 7 or 8 times!

Feed dog dinner 4 PM

5 PM, dog out for about 10 minutes to relieve himself

7 PM, dog out AGAIN (this is where his pee issue raises it's mysterious head--he makes it all day while I'm at work, but cannot seem to make it from 5 PM until bedtime!)

9 PM, dog out for final pee (only this early because we get up so early and I am old!)

[Fruitycake]

I try to be very attune to Monty's pace and if he even looks like he's going to sniff and I'm not ready or I'm in a hurry and I know he isn't going to "produce" I just make sure to keep myself moving and tell him "Nope" and make sure he doesn't stop. He doesn't get a chance to even sniff the tree, and while at first I had to do quite a bit of dragging him away because he'd go all "stubborn two-year-old" ("can't make me!") on me and I'd do as others have recommended and nudge him to get the feet moving and then force him to move on. His "get moving" command after a stop-and-sniff is "too slow" and now I can tell him this and start moving and he'll start walking before I reach the end of the 5 foot lead.

 

I did take a while, and with other people he does try the "brakes" about 2 feet before something he wants to sniff and fears he might not be able to...but if I'm with them (walking the other dog) I can tell him "nope" and he'll sigh this huge, put-upon sigh and continue moving. If he veers toward something I don't want him sniffing or potentially using as a marking-spot (garbage bins, bags of leaves, children's toys...) I can now just use "nope" and he veers back to the sidewalk without even a hesitation in his stride. He's a good dog.

 

I do talk to both the dogs all the freaking time when I'm walking them, so in addition to obvious commands that I've tried to train them they've learned other commands that I didn't really think about. Directional, mostly. And Allie ("Al" - nongrey) thinks that both "hey" (said conversationally as an attention getter) and "Al..." (said low and slow/warningly) mean she has to sit. That was completely unintended...but very helpful. She has 3 different sit commands (she knows "sit" too)!

[Guest Krizzy]

Hahaha! I loved reading, "he kicks up chunks of grass and dirt." I wondered the same thing- if I can get our boy, Hammer, out of that habit. After he pees i just tug his leash a little and say, "come on" in a playful voice, but sometimes he still gets the kick in. One time he did it on the neighbors lawn while our neighbor was out! I was so embarrassed. (but it's so cute!)

[Guest FrankieWylie]

We take two different kinds of walks....

 

If we are walking for MY exercise or to go get the kids from school then there is no stopping no matter what.

 

If we are walking for them and to take a leisurely stroll, then they are permitted to walk and sniff and mark and all that jazz.

 

They can tell the difference based on my pace and where I hold their leashes at.