Page 40 - Issue 3_2018

Nine Good Reasons Dogs Urine Mark

by Adrienne Farricelli

Urine in dogs has a dual purpose: for emptying the bladder but can
also be used for communicative means, basically the purpose is trig- Did you know?
gering a social response in other dogs or other animals. Urine contains
pheromones which are chemicals meant to deliver different mes-
sages purposely left for a recipient to interpret. This is why dogs are
so attuned to sniffing areas where other dogs have eliminated. As you Dogs don’t analyze pheromones
may have heard, sniffing other dog’s urine is like “reading pee-mail”,
sending “Tweets” or reading important headlines of what is going on with their noses, but they have an
the doggy world. Dogs are constantly scanning the environment for
these messages and are also eager to leave their own. Interestingly, organ purposely built for this task:
dogs don’t analyze these pheromones with their noses, but they have
an organ purposely built for this task: the vomero-nasal organ, also the vomero-nasal organ,
known as Jacobson’s organ, found within their nasal cavity. Following also known as Jacobson’s organ,
are some messages dogs use to convey through urine marking.
found within their nasal cavity.
“This Is My Territory”

I have seen several livestock guardian dogs engaging in what is called
“perimeter marking.” These dogs are constantly scanning their territory
for presence of threats. Who can blame them? These breeds were “Rover Was Here”
selectively bred to protect their livestock and they have a deep need
to guard anything, your family, your children, your ducks and even Does your dog coincidentally urinate right by the driveway where
the bird feeder-- if need be. According to Livestock Guardian Dogs.org other dogs live? If so, he may be leaving a little bit of pee-mail for his
“When protecting its livestock, the first line of protection is the scent doggy neighbors to sniff when they go on their next walk. You’ll also
marks left around the perimeter of its yard or field. The next line of see this form of “tweeting’ when your dog is at the dog park and marks
defense is barking – an announcement that someone big is on duty around or when your dog marks on vertical items. The choice of verti-
and trespassing might be hazardous.” These territorial pheromones cal items such as lamp posts, fire hydrants or trees is quite common in
left upon marking are meant to mark the perimeter of a perceived canines for the simple fact that they are at nose level of other dogs. It’s
territory. sort of like putting a big sign at eye level in stores to attract people.

Similarly, free-ranging mother dogs are seen scent marking near their You may occasionally stumble upon tenacious small dogs who will al-
dens which may suggest an effort to discourage intruders from enter- most do a head stand just to be able to mark on a vertical item to add
ing that area. their own little message. What do these messages convey? A whole
lot! By sniffing marked areas, the recipients learn more about things
such as the sex, identity and reproductive status of the marker.
Some dogs may also scratch the dirt after the deed. This is almost
an attempt to add a visual marker to the olfactory one. It’s almost as
if dogs were putting an arrow as to say “follow this line of scratched
dirt and at the end of it, yes, urine” explains Ian Dunbar. On top of
that,consider that there are secreting pheromones found in the glands
of the dog’s feet, so dogs who scratch are also leaving another olfac-
tory element on top of the urine left. Interestingly, Alexandra Horowitz
in her book “ Inside of a Dog” reports this behavior being more likely
on windy days when the message could be more readily waft away.

“ Female In Heat, Here!”

And then you have the special urine left behind from the famous
French poodle in estrus. When used to mark, this special urine draws
male dogs as honey draws bees even from considerable distances.
What’s in it? According to VCA Animal Hospital “The urine contains
pheromones and hormones, both of which signal any interested
males...”For this reason, many encourage owners of intact females not
to take them on walks while in estrus as this would certainly attack
many contestants.

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