Expert: Jannie Balliett - 4/23/2010

Question
hi there i have a 21 month old female boxer Meka who after her second season has developed peeing like a male backs up to tall odjects grass and trees etc several times whilst out on walks, at home she squats like any other female dog.
is she just send marking or may there be a underlyng problem.
just to keep you informed i also have a female 18 month bullmastiff Roxy who are very much inseperable, and are taken for walks at the same time.
hope you van help
thanks
tanya

Answer
When a female has had heats, they begin to "mark" just like males.

It serves two purposes: 1) to mark the territory for other dogs to smell; other females know she's been there, and males will smell her presence. The other reason is, if she's had a litter, she wants her male to know where she is.

It is common for a female that has had a litter, if still around the sire she mated with, or another male in the household/area, to mark his pee.

Males and females that have bred will continue to mark each others elimination areas for a lifetime.

She is behaving normally,