Why do male dogs lift their legs to urinate?
Posted by Dog Supplies Advice in Dog Supplies Q&A, Dog Supplies Tips, tags: choosing dogs, dog Q&A, dog supplies advice, Dog Supplies Q&A, Dog Supplies Tips, dogs, male dogs, male dogs's urinateWhy do male dogs lift their legs to urinate?
Urine, like other bodily excretions, contains highly individual scent chemicals called pheromones, and is used by dogs to scent-mark the area in which they live or through which they roam; what might be termed their territory. This is done both to inform other dogs of their presence and to provide reassurance for themselves by giving a familiar odour to the surroundings. The need to emphasize their presence is much stronger in adult males and it is possible that they are able to control, at least partially, the addition of scent secretion to their urine specifically forthis purpose. Also by fully raising one hind leg a male dog is able to direct his urine on to any prominent vertical surface (e.g. a tree, lamp-post, fence etc.) so that it will be distributed more widely and therefore be more obvious to other passing dogs. Most males will raise whichever leg is nearest the ‘target’; others seem to favour one leg and will alter their position accordingly. Adult males, however, may also urinate on the ground, presumably simply to relieve themselves, and when they do this a hind leg is only partially elevated.
A male dog urinates about three times as often as a bitch, so that left to his own devices his progress on a walk is continually being interrupted by the investigation of urinary scent-marks left by other dogs, followed by the addition of his own. Even when his bladder is empty the behaviour will persist because the instinct is so strong. The strongest stimulant to scent-mark is the odour of another male, but the scent of a bitch in heat, and sometimes other strong-smelling substances, such as tobacco, will elicit the same behaviour.
After passing urine male dogs will sometimes scratch at the earth, not, as in the case of a cat, to cover up the excretion, but to reinforce his urine scent with scent from the sweat glands on the pads, and also to leave a visual signal. Such behaviour is most likely to take place near the territory of another male, or if other dogs are watching. Urine marking in the house may be shown by previously housetrained male animal., trying to establish their dominance, for example following the introduction of another adult male into the household .
Incidentally, some members of the dog family that scarcely meet each other outside the breeding season, such as foxes, produce a much more strongly scented urine than the domestic dog.
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