How do you stop a dog from marking ?

[tonttu]

I have 4 dogs , 2 are older spayed females and 2 are 10-month-old brothers .

Their mother is a Lhasa Apso and their father is a Lhasa Apso - Bichon Frise - Tibet terrier mix .

Their are not castrated yet , due to my financial situation  , but are house broken , but lately , I have noticed , that one of them has started marking in the house .

We don´t have carpet , so that is not an issue , but it is bothersome nonetheless ., especially since I have a 10-month-old , that is starting to crawl and even though , I have gotten into the habit of checking every morning , I don´t always catch every little pee spot and ... well , yeah ! It´s not very nice

Any ideas on how I could stop that or at least lessen the problem ?

They have access to a large fenced-in yard and they like to be outside all day , even in cold weather , we built them a shelter as well , so if they don´t want to come in , when it´s raining for example , they have a place to lay under .

So , I don´t think , the problem is , that they have to pee at night and can´t hold it . I usually ( or one of my older kids ) let them out about 6 am and I make sure , they go out one last time around 10 pm and it´s really not " I had to go and couldn´t hold it anymore " pee , you can tell it´s " I am marking my territory " pee .

I should also add , that the one doing it ( we only ever caught him ) is the more dominant of the 2

[Mirzam]

It is a dominance issue especially with two unneutered males in the house. I have an intact 2 year old Mastiff and around that age and younger, 7 to 8 months I think, he did mark a few times in the house. When I caught him in the act, I said, in a firm voice, "outside", and opened the door. He understands the word "outside", and knew he had done wrong and would run outside immediately. I think I only had to tell him three times and he got the message that it was not okay to mark in the house. Also, at the age of your males, my dog was still crated at night. He didn't get free roam privileges until he was quite a bit older and marking inside would no longer enter is mind!

[tonttu]

That is the thing , he KNOWS , he ´s doing something wrong , I don´t even have to yell , when I catch him , but he stops immediately and runs . 

The crate thing does sound like a good idea , maybe even like a punishment ( I mean like a time out corner for kids ) " if you lift your leg in the house , I will put you in there " or do you think , that would create more problems of a different sort ?

[Mirzam]

The crate shouldn't be punishment. Dogs that have been crated since puppies view it as their safe place, their den. I don't think dogs have the capacity to understand cause and effect, so using it as a threat won't work. Just crate him when you can't watch him like a hawk. You might want to go over the house training again, and treat him like a puppy. Neutering him will almost certainly not stop this.

[dog groomer89]

Definitely have them neutered as soon as you can. :-p  Neutering can help with this, but it's not a for sure thing, especially If it's becoming a problem habit now.  I would never let a dog have free reign of the house if he is having marking problems haha.  Whenever you cannot properly supervise them, put them in the crate.  All three of mine are completely house trained (including my intact male)  but they are always confined at night, or when I am out of the house.  (not because i'm afraid of potty messes, but because they can be destructive when I'm gone lol)  I agree with Mirzan as well, and go over housetraining again.  If they don't respect the rules, then they get treated like babies again and I would start crating them and letting them potty at certain intervals during the day.  If they go outside they get praise and play time. If they don't go outside they go back in the crate for 30 minutes and then you try again. good luck!