i'm sorry but the vision of a cute little westie lifting his leg on an unsuspecting human is just pretty darn funny!

seriously though, i have to wonder if he's doing this because he smells the scent of other dogs on these peoples' clothing.

If that happened to my leg in a public dog park I would be furious. If you can't keep your dog from peeing on people - regardless of his reason - keep him leashed and away from people.

My friend's little maltese comes into my house and raises his leg on my couch. I'd like to break it off. I make her hold him ince he can't be trusted.

i dunno, elly, i think when you go to a dog park, it stands to reason that you are pretty much at the mercy of a bunch of loose dogs. i don't go any more, i just got so tired of undisciplined dogs not playing nice and idiot owners who were clueless about what their dogs were doing.

obviously, socks admits the "problem" but just doesn't know how to deal with it or why her little guy is doing it.

Sounds as if the 'Hey!' is working. Enough of that and he should cease the behavior.

As for why----might be a dominance thing. Might be territory marking. Might be hormonal changes from the neutering.

No real matter if the 'Hey!' corrects the behavior.

Hey, Handymac! Thanks for the support! I'll just have to be very vigilant and ready with HEY! It's a nice park, nice people, a good experience for the dogs--and I don't want to stop going.

"i'm sorry but the vision of a cute little westie lifting his leg on an unsuspecting human is just pretty darn funny! "

especially on the same person twice - lmao

Your dog is "marking" people. It means he has a dominant personality and is trying to take over, Stop the behavior by disciplining him. Teaching your dog you are the boss is paramount. Eat first, go out the door first, make him sit and stay etc...When walking dont let him stop and mark everything. Once he relieves himself once, keep walking for however long you walk and dont let him stop at every blade of grass to urinate on it. Marking is not the same as eliminating. Good luck

Dogs go to parks to help them become social. I have far, far less objection to being 'marked' then intimidated by a nasty dog or worrying about one attacking my dog in an unleashed situation. Kudos to noticing the problem and double kudos for seeking a solution. I am rural and do not have access to a dog park and wouldn't use it if I did because many people don't have the consideration you do for other people and appropriateness.

Yes, he's dominating and if he does it in this respect he may be doing it in other areas. My mate and I are not on the same wavelength with the issue of small dogs and dominating behaviour. My little fellow absolutely knows and respects I rule the roost, but he takes advantage of my partner who often thinks his naughtiness is cute. It isn't.

I agree that it is a dominance thing.

I've always been proud of his behavior at the dog park. We have been going there only a couple months, and I am thinking he's starting to feel it's "his" park now that he's very comfortable with the other dogs and surroundings.

He did not pee on any person today, although I was careful to keep him away from people's ankles, but I'm sorry to say he peed on two other dogs. Both times I caught him in action and scolded him.

Finally a 2 lb. dog came and put him in his place a bit.

I can walk him as Mazer suggests. I wonder if I should put him on the big dog side of the park. He has been trained but not by or with me. Maybe we should take a training class. The dog has lived with another family member previously and has only in the last few months come to live with me.

{{!gwi}}

OMG, he's cute!

What if there was a child in your child's playground and he peed on the other kids?

There is one dog park I frequented. The owners were "regulars" and were very vigilant about their dogs' behavior. No one went there thinking getting marked on was "what happens" at a dog park.

In fact, there were basic rules. The most basic one was, if your dog is annoying or causing discomfort to another dog or person, you have to leave. It's not fair for owners with well-behaved dogs (like mine) to tolerate another dog peeing on them. And if that did happen to me, and the owner did not succeed in controlling that objectionable behavior, I would have to take my dog and leave and not enjoy the park.

Marking on people is not "sand on the beach" in that you should expect it at a dog park. I guess it takes a special person to allow their dog to do this and think that it's ok.

Public dog parks are not training grounds to see if your dog behaves. If it doesn't behave, you are ruining it for the people there whose dogs do behave.

Elly, stop beating me up. You offer no suggestions, just criticism.

Do I need to tell you I'm not happy with this? Do I need to tell you that I don't believe this is "what happens" at a dog park? See the word "embarrassing" in the subject line? I'm addressing the problem, so please stop being so unhelpful.

Certain people on here are always old crankmonsters, Socks; don't let it bother you. FWIW, I wouldn't care at all if he did it to me. First of all, It obviously matters to you and you are trying to get him to stop, and secondly, he's an innocent dog - nothing malicious is going on. It's not like dog parks are clean environments anyway.

What struck me was that you said he's only recently moved in with you after living with someone else. That's a big deal. I think he's probably acting out a bit bc he's a little stressed and uncertain and, yes, trying to mark his place in his new world. I'd bet that if you just keep correcting him, he'll get it and stop. Taking him to the dog park is certainly good for him.

It's wonderful of you to add him to your family.

he is SO stinkin' adorable!!

and socks, i don't think it's you that elly is dissing, it's me.

elly, seriously, you need to lighten up. granted, this is an objectionable habit for ANY dog, large or small. but in this case, it is being addressed. it isn't like socks came here and posted how funny she thinks it is that her little dog is peeing on somebody's leg and just laughing it off.

if i was the person being peed on by a dog that cute, i'd be hard pressed to keep a straight face but that's just me. maybe it's because i live in the country and for 30+ years, i've had farm animals and have had everything from pee to poop to blood to vomit thrown at me (literally). i just don't see why a little dog peeing on me would get much of anything other than a good laugh.

socks, i don't think it's a good idea for you to take your little guy to the "big dog" section of the park. there is too much chance that should a bigger dog decide he doesn't like your little guy, an attack by a big dog can do untold damage to a small dog like yours. best to stay on the "small dog" side, for his safety.

He is so cute!! You seem to be on the right track with good advice. He's probably just testing what he can get away with claiming as his, although I think it is interesting that he does it only to folks who aren't paying him any attention. I wonder if getting attention is how he validates his dominance and when someone is ignoring him he has to show them who is boss some other way.

"We have been going there only a couple months, and I am thinking he's starting to feel it's "his" park now that he's very comfortable with the other dogs and surroundings. "

This reminds me of a little dog I looked after for a few months while the owner was very sick in hospital. for the first month he was a delight, but then he started sneaking off and marking his territory on the furniture when no one was looking. I don't know if he did this at home or if it was because of the new environment at my home (I didn't bring it up with the owner since they had been through a lot with their health) but I definitely felt it happened when he started to feel comfortable and settled in and was then marking his territory to send a message. I think you are doing the right thing by trying to catch him at him and correct him to let him know it's not ok.

Take him for his walk and after he's eliminated, belly band him. It's not something he'll keep on in a dog park, but if you can "set him up" by borrowing some friends to create similar situations, he can learn that peeing results in a wet tummy. Create a safe learning environment where he will depict the undesirable behavior, and you have the right situation to correct it. It's hard to do when he's running loose at a dog park. So maybe do this in a neighbor's back yard. One that is willing to possibly become a little damp!

One time when I took my dogs to Woofstock where there were a gazillion dogs and their owners, my Dachshund lifted his leg and peed(just a tiny bit) on the leg of a heavy person in jeans. Since he had peed quite a lot before on our walk, it was just a teeny bit and we kept on walking and the person didn't even notice. That was the only time this has happened, and I'd like to think he didn't even know it was a person because of the pandemonium.

Wow, this was 7 years ago! Sorry that happened to you, Michelle. I have no problem with a gentle smack under these circumstances. I still join in with a dog group but always keep a close eye on my dog. As he's a male, I can tell when he's sidling up to do the deed. If I see him sneaking up around someone's ankles, I tell him to move away. We've had only one incident in quite a few years.

I was told this dog does this to “all the new people” Not. Ok.

Maybe it learned from you. Hope you can clean those shoes. If they are washable, check natures miracle laundry boost Or ask for suggestions on the laundry forum. Dog p isn’t as bad as cat. See how lucky you are? Ha ha

my dog also does this. super embarrassing. he’s been a regular at the dog park since 4 months old and started this at 7 months. hes 8 months now. I put a belly band on him when I remember it, and warn everyone. He did get someone today that was quite upset. Everyone else has been cool about it. One of his victims has even criticized the belly band and told me to just let him do it LOL. MOST people are super cool about it, but it’s still most definitely not okay and I am always very apologetic when it happens. Its such a hard habit to break. I’m starting to keep a band in my car though so that I can keep everyone dry even if we decide to go to the park last minute

It seems to me he needs to learn not to do that, forget the belly band. You need to keep your eyes on him and not let him get too far from you. People are polite, but no one really thinks it's ok. And of course it is embarrassing to you. Learn when he does it, keep an eye on him and learn his habit. Mine always did it behind people, on the shoes. As soon as you see him getting near "shooting range," call his name and scurry him away. Mine has also done it on the back legs of other dogs. I catch him now and then but mostly he has stopped.

it’s definitely something we have to keep working on! i try to warn people and correct when he goes to do it so thankfully he hasn’t been too successful. the belly band is just there so that if he’s sneaky about one it isn’t actually an issue. the one guy i was talking about actually does think its funny LOL. most people are most definitely just polite, the one is a regular so i see him pretty often and he regularly tells me it’s a dog park and that i should just let him be free. he is a great dane though, so he gets people high up which is so so much more embarrassing🤦🏼‍♀️😂

we actually took a break from the dog park for a bit to work on some training so that corrections would stick a little more. he’s been good all week but today he got someone again. sigh. back to helicopter parenting 🤣

Oh my, a great dane! Yes, he would hit "high!" Mine's small, so he's lucky if he gets the socks! Part of the fun of going to a dog park is visiting with the other dog owners, so it spoils it a tiny bit when you have to shadow your dog. But it will be worth it. Have fun with your dear dog.