Why do male dogs mark?

Many people notice dogs urinate on posts, walls, and plant pots as if they have a specific reason for picking such a spot. More often than not, the dogs that do these are male, and they actually have a pretty good reason for picking such a spot for urinating.  Some male dogs even lift their legs high up when urinating on a post, for example. These dogs are actually urinating on selected spots to mark their so-called territory. It’s like some form of instinct for male dogs to let the others know that they are the kings and owners of a particular area, and they do it through leaving a mark by means of their urine.

This attitude of marking territories is actually done by dogs even in the past. Similar behaviour also occurs in other animal species like male bears and teh rhinoceros.  But the main reason remains the same, and this is to notify the other males of their supposed territory.  It is said that a dog’s urine is unique and different from the other dogs’ so it contains certain chemicals that pertain to just one dog. So if one male dog, for example, wants to mark his own territory, he does it by urinating on things like posts and walls. And since dogs have a great sense of smell, other dogs in the area will be able to sniff that a particular area is already marked by another dog.

And along with marking for territory, male dogs also want to project strength and power over other male dogs. It’s like a supremacy attitude to tell other dogs about one’s greatness and machismo. Some dogs try to urinate as high up on the post or wall as possible which explains why they try to lift their legs so high. The higher the marking, the better they can project that they are stronger and bigger than the other male dogs in the area. There are also dogs that put marks on several spots just to make sure that any other male dog that roams around will know that the territory is already taken.