Not a novice question at all.
I also enjoy know why my dogs do a certain
behavior.

Territory marking (testosterone induced)
Helps reduce a dogs anxiety by masking any
other dogs odor by leaving their own scent.
Sort of like a calling card I guess.
It's kind of funny. Even though all my dogs are fixed.
If one dog urinates the other two will
take their turns peeing on the same spot.
They will also do a dance to spread their scent around more.
They also urinate/mark when under
stress such as passing an aggressive dog.
My top female does it as much as
my male does.
Fixing dogs usually helps curb the marking.

[This message has been edited by KYS (edited December 06, 2000).]