Leroy’s Dirty Little Habit

I think that whoever made this card had Leroy in mind.  You see, Leroy is a marker…also known as the phantom pisser.  We rescued him at five months and the Humane Society had already neutered him.  I always assumed that marking was an issue for unaltered male dogs, but that’s not the case (although unaltered dogs are more likely to mark than neutered dogs overall).

Leroy is the main reason we now have all hard floors in our main living area.  He really likes to mark anything hanging down: shower curtains, corners of comforters on beds, curtains, etc.  He also likes sofa corners, chair legs and table legs.  He’s gotten better in our house, but we don’t bring him to friends’ houses because we just can’t trust him.

So this past weekend we went to my parent’s house and Leroy struck again. Sometimes in all the commotion we don’t watch him as closely as we should…plus he’s a sneaky little booger.  He unleashed on my brother’s suit jacket that was hanging on the back of a chair.  He also unleashed on a comforter and on the leg of a sofa.  Needless to say we always bring along Nature’s Miracle.  My parents are INCREDIBLY UNDERSTANDING people.  I especially give props to my dad, who grew up on a farm where dogs stayed outside.  He has been so loving and accepting of my dogs.

So…I’m wondering if anyone has any amazing tricks to stop marking?  We’ve tried belly bands and diapers (he can get both off in record time).  We really try to watch him, but it’s not always possible or realistic.  If we catch him we clap loud and say “no marking”, to which he just looks at us like, “what?” I’m looking for a miracle here people!  He’s such a loving, sweet little boy, who has one dirty little habit!