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Is it normal for females to mark territory

Behavioral Issues
  • I have noticed that when Sandie is let out front or even when we are walking the neighborhood that she loves to smell the mail boxes, and remark the places i know are places males have been. Its not even a full squat like females do just a half way squat and a short squirt.
    She also does this in the hall way to my husbands shop ( thank god that area is tile) if he locks her out from going with him. She does not do this in any other part of the house. I was just wondering if its a act of dominanace.
    Also kinna off subject but it there a foot spay out to use to clean feet, I wash her feet but they stink still, hate to say it again but it smella like fritos.

  • As for the frito toes, it is just a dog thing. I have no idea, it's not just Basenji's my boxer has frito toes and I know other breeds have the same thing. I think it has soemthing to do with the sweating from the feet????

    As for the marking, I have seen females mark, even a few lift thier legs. I'm not sure about her doing outside your husbands shop though.

  • My female golden retrieve mix does the same thing, quick squat and squirt, anywhere another dog may have been.

    I STILL don't get the frito feet thing, thank God! My dogs feet just smell like the dirt in the yard – which smells nothing like fritos, LOL.

  • Yes, it is normal for bitches to mark… my girls (I have three at home) mark all the time... and usually over top where the last one went... on walks or at shows/lure trials, they will mark over top other Basenjis....

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2 Sept 2007, 17:53

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    @Saving so nice to hear there's other people with the same problem! We have been giving regular baths to our b, so I don't know if that really helped or not. Anyways, it took a while for me to bring Nova again to the dog park, because I was a bit afraid the same situation would happen again. I was there a couple of days ago, and no one tried to hump her. (I must say all dogs had same age approx.) Thank you for your comment replies! :)
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    Behavioral Issues 31 Jan 2012, 04:55
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    Farley Mowat recounted in his book, "Never Cry Wolf" that when he "marked" the territory around his tent, the male wolf in the area respected his marking, but the wolf also marked the same places from the other side, not intruding on his space. So that method could backfire if the dog decided he had to reciprocate. Reminds me of a cartoon where a man catches his dog lifting his leg on the couch, takes him outside and demonstrates how to pee on a tree, whereupon the dog, back inside, stands on his hind legs and pees on the couch. Funny! :)
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    Thanks for all of that, listeme! We're working on "leave it" and "drop it" (similar to trade, for now, hoping he'll start dropping without trading eventually). Leave it was more out of necessity, lol, while drop it he seems to find fun. I am truly convinced that he is a magic puppy today! Came home after having to leave him home alone in the crate for 5 hours (I felt horrible!) and expected to have a huge mess in the crate to clean up. Instead, there was a puddle of pee on the kitchen floor just OUTSIDE of the crate, and nothing inside! Either he was on his hind legs or learned to lift a leg, but either way - awesome!!!
  • Female or male?

    Behavioral Issues 17 Jan 2010, 19:56
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    I think our male must have been the exeption, he certainly did have a clue and manipulated us ruthlessly all his life, but we loved him so much. We are having a female Pup this time so time will tell
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