# Can you teach males how to lift their leg?



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

I know that sounds backwards but Harry pees on his front legs because he's neutered and he only barely lifts his back leg when he pees. It aims his pee right at his front leg and it gets drenched and it's gross.


----------



## Buck (Oct 22, 2009)

Cooper does the same thing. He was neutered at 11 months old and he has never lifted his leg and probably won't cause he is almost a year and a half old now.


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Ugh I neutered mine a little after he was a year. He only half lifts it. I'm thinking that they should not be neutered until they learn to lift it all the way.


----------



## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Riley was neutered at 5 months old and is an expert leg lifter now! He started after he was a year old when we started going to the dog park. He saw some other boys doing it, and wanted to mark all the posts too. Voila! Monkey see, monkey do. Never has he ever marked in the house though! He mostly squats to pee in our yard though, but everywhere else he lifts his leg very high.


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

No dog parks here.


----------



## flyingduster (Sep 6, 2009)

yup, often if you can find an obliging boy it'll help. Any dog will do, but preferably a tall boy that hitches that leg up high, so to cover the mark your boy has to too!! Generally, if he's litterally right on the tail of a high-lifter he'll be more inclined to get right up there too.

FD


----------



## Poodlepal (Nov 1, 2009)

Dont give up! I have a dog who did not start lifting his leg until he was well over 2 years old. It seems to have started when we started going on walks every day. He wanted to start marking all these things and just started lifting. Now he lifts about 3/4 of the time even at home. I suggest taking the dog on walks every day and seeing if this will develop.


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

On walks I'm not going to let him pee on other people's things. Where I live we don't have a lot of trees that are just available at parks and things for walks, open fields though. We live in south Texas so lots of palm trees, not a lot of wooded areas. I have a really good idea though. The owner of the store where my husband works has a great dane boy that lifts his leg up even though he's neutered. He'd pee up high being a great dane so my boy would have to mark way up to reach it. I think it's high time they met.


----------



## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

Neutering does not determine whether the dog will lift his leg or not. All the male dogs I know are neutered and they all lift their legs. Meeting the great dane should help. Good luck.


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Neutering after the dog already lifts the leg helps. If you neuter before they never learn to do it.


----------



## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Yeah, my female spayed dog started kicking her feet after she poo'd after she saw other dogs doing it. I think it's HILARIOUS.


----------



## Flake (Oct 18, 2009)

My inlaws toy is 12 and cocks his leg okay, just about half a meter away from where he should....kind of funny watching him try to pee on a lampost


----------



## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

I'm glad that my 3 all squat in the yard. Luckily, they all spread out so as not to urinate on themselves - yuk! I don't want them ruining my trees and bushes. We don't let them go on other people's property on walks - I think that's rude. We live in a HOA neighborhood, but f I lived in a more rural area, I guess it would be different.


----------



## Marian (Oct 20, 2009)

bigpoodleperson said:


> Riley was neutered at 5 months old and is an expert leg lifter now! He started after he was a year old when we started going to the dog park. He saw some other boys doing it, and wanted to mark all the posts too. Voila! Monkey see, monkey do. Never has he ever marked in the house though! He mostly squats to pee in our yard though, but everywhere else he lifts his leg very high.


Teddy suddenly started lifting his leg at about 4 and a half months. Now he can't stop doing it, even if nothing comes out. Walking down a city street with parking meters and lampposts every 10 feet is a time-consuming event now! :rolffleyes:

He still squats if there is nothing to lift his leg on, but occasionally does a half leg lift, I think just to get his leg out of the way.

I'm waiting for his adult canines to come in before having him neutered.


----------



## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Riley likes to mark every tree, rock, etc on our walk too. Since we are there to WALK, we have a rule. He can mark as long as he is done by the time he hits the end of his 6' leash. If he is not done then i give a pop and keep walking. If i didnt then we would never get anywhere. I let him have a full pee for how long he wants, but if its just marking then we move right on. 

Just a note about waiting for his teeth. Does he have his adult canines in yet? If all of them are fully there and he still has his baby teeth then i wouldnt wait much longer (how old is he?). A Lot of times on small breeds they wont loose their canines, and we will have to pull them at the spay/neuter if the adults are already in. Leaving them both in for awhile can cause problems. They can really mess up tooth alignment, attract lots of tarter, and can damage the adult canine. I just like to caution people as i have seen 5 year old dogs with baby teeth still in as owners were waiting until they fell out.


----------



## Marian (Oct 20, 2009)

I just noticed today that the adult ones have broken through and the baby ones are not at all loose. I will be making the appointment shortly. I'm wondering how much extra they will charge me for pulling the teeth in addition to neutering him. Seems like I never leave the vet's office for less than $300. (Yes, I do go to a rather high-end vet clinic, but I feel confident about the doctors there, which wasn't the case when I was using a small one-man office. Maybe I should get over it and find a cheaper vet that I feel comfortable with)


----------



## Flake (Oct 18, 2009)

Duncan got unders Dad's boxer when he cocked his leg the other day. wasn't pretty.


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Oh gosh that's so gross.LOL


----------



## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

I thought he was older. If the adult ones are just coming through then you have some time. Once they are fully in though, and the babies arnt gone then i would get it done. We charge 20$/tooth to remove them since they are under anyways.


----------



## Marian (Oct 20, 2009)

Flake said:


> Duncan got unders Dad's boxer when he cocked his leg the other day. wasn't pretty.


I keep misreading that as "Duncan got under Dad's boxers when he cocked his leg..." lol

*bigpoodleperson:* Yeah, he was born on 05/31/09, so he isn't even six months old yet. Thanks for the advice.


----------



## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

TheQueen enjoys marking every single place in the yard the boys have peed on. In the yard and in the grass on walks, she will squat and mark, but on trees, bushes, and poles, she is known to lift her leg.

Guess we should get all these boys to come hang out with my girlie girl


----------



## frostfirestandards (Jun 18, 2009)

could it have something to do with squareness? 

my early neutered boy is longbacked and still squats, but never pees on his legs. my intact black boy lifts and never pees on his legs, but my intact white boy lifts and he gets his legs every time- he is more square than the other two... could that have anything to do with it?


----------



## KPoos (Aug 29, 2009)

Funny you say that, I was talking to someone about it, a groomer. She said that squareness will make the dog hit the leg because the back is shorter. He's pretty square so there's not much I can do in that department other than buy the covers and keep them on him when he goes out to potty and wash them.


----------

