Lift leg or squat?

[jennifert]

Just wondering where your dog stands on this issue? Duncan squats still. I heard somewhere in my travels that male dogs will squat until they get older, then they will lift their leg. I also heard somewhere else that lifting their leg is a learned behavior and they will only do it if they see other dogs doing it. Duncan has tried it twice, once for about 2 seconds, so fast I almost missed it! The second time, he must have been trying to look cool and he did it really fast again but this time he lost his balance and stumbled a little (I didn't giggle at him! What kind of mom do you think I am? ! )
Anyway, what's the deal?

[LoudLou]

Duncan looks like my beloved Shadow (b.1985-d.1991) Shad squatted until he was about 2yr. He fell over also. We didn't laugh at him either... well, at least we didn't let him see us.Louie started the leg lifting at about 18months, of course being a Corgi he doesn't have far to lift

[jackiesdaisy]

Of course we won't laugh, but Perry is the real macho in the house and we got him at 9 months old and he lifted his leg when he went outside, then we noticed him squatting after he saw Daisy squat. But he is three years old now and I think he decided to stay with the leg lift. LOL Now when we let him down in the lower yard, he waters all my bushes and plants. Just about every one. LOL
Jackie

[lizbud]

jennifert,

Hi. In answer to your question, I have no idea why
a dog squats . I know my male dog Buddy, did not
really start to lift his leg until after he was 1 yr old.
It didn't really matter to me, but the first time he
actually did it, I remember thinking "All Right!! Bud".
Good question ...

[jennifert]

I think Dunkster is just about a year now so maybe he'll start doing it more...? I take him out on a leash also to pee for the most part. Maybe he thinks I'll throw him off-balance...Who knows

[Pam]

I have only had one male dog and he lifted his leg. As he got older we noticed he started squatting. That was in his "teen" years. We figured it might be because of arthritis and it was painful to get that leg up any more. He lived to be 17 and was a sweetheart. Pumpkin I miss you!

[AdoreMyDogs]

Originally posted by Pam
I have only had one male dog and he lifted his leg. As he got older we noticed he started squatting. That was in his "teen" years. We figured it might be because of arthritis and it was painful to get that leg up any more. He lived to be 17 and was a sweetheart. Pumpkin I miss you!

Awe that's so sweet, Pam. I am sure you made Pumpkin smile just then

The only time I have seen Graham squat is after his major orthopedic surgery, as it was just too hard to keep his balance, being that he could not use his left front leg for anything. He's a leg lifter. When I adopted him he was about 9 months old and I called to make an appointment shortly after, and they didn't have any openings for a couple of months so Graham was close to 12 months old before he finally was able to get castrated. If you get them done when they are 6 months old, they are less likely to lift a leg and more likely to squat.

[KYS]

Rocky usually lifts his leg so high he looks like he
could fall over. He also squats sometimes too.
Rocky is the only male in our household of females.
He started lifting on his own before he was a yr. old.
My sister's male dog never lifted a leg for over 7 yrs.
Than when her female dog passed away,
her male started lifting.

[Karen]

My first dog, Sheba, was a spayed female, best guess German Shepherd maybe Doberman mix. She was THE leader of the neighborhood dogs, gender notwithstanding. She always lifted her leg especially on her "morning rounds" through the mile-or-so square she regarded as her territory and marked trees, etc.

She had been a stray before we got her, so we don't know where she learned it from, but she was the smartest best dog in the whole world! Seriously, she was by far the smartest dog my family ever owned.

[mruffruff]

Scruffy was neutered at 4 months and he started to lift his leg at about 9 months. Now that he is missing a back leg, he lifts the one that's left sometimes!

Mary

[purrley]

Karen - females lift their legs Never heard of this - that's why I wanted a female so I wouldn't have to worry about this

[Bobbie]

Chester didn't start lifting his leg until he was a little over a year. I have actually heard that most male dogs do this, I think it might be a balance thing, you know how clumsy puppies are, I'm sure that if he is attempting it now he will be a pro soon just like Chester, I swear he holds his pee all day long so when we go for long walks he can pee all over everything that is standing. Don't know how he holds so much

[kobieeli]

Our vet said the same thing Leslie (AdoreMyDogs) said in an earlier post--that if you neuter before about 9 months old, most males won't lift their leg. It's been true of Eli for sure. He was neutered at 7 months and now, at 1.5 years old, he still squats. He's never lifted his leg! He doesn't really "mark" either--just empties himself all at once rather than spraying a little bit every few steps. His way is kind of nice, if you ask me! I always wonder, though, if he gets "teased" by his dogpark friends at all...

[sabies]

I was under the assumption that leg lifting was a dominance thing for dogs. By lifting their leg they can get their scent up on objects, maybe it makes them look bigger the higher the marking goes.

My dog Sadie is a spayed female, yet she lifts her leg. It's not as much a lift as a male dog, she just looks like she's squatting with one leg up a bit. I don't think that indicates dominance in her, she's the biggest wimp, maybe she just thinks she's dominant at the moment.

[jennifert]

If you get them done when they are 6 months old, they are less likely to lift a leg and more likely to squat.

The shelter that I adopted Duncan from told me he was about a yr old when I got him! Boy, were they wrong!! He was neutered before I brought him home and at his vet visit the next week, the vet said he wasn't even 6 months old since he still had his baby teeth!! He's also doubled in size since then! I guess it was hard for the shelter people to tell since he is a really big dog, then and now!!
I kind of like the squatting thing! It's so cute and puppyish!! Purrley, not all dogs so the "marking" thing. My roommate's dog does. He pees on every tree, bush, blade of grass he comes across! Duncan, on the other hand, although he hasn't started lifting his leg yet, and he may never..., he is all about getting down to business! He just pees and moves on to the next thing! I think he thinks "OK, Mommy wants me to pee and poop real fast so then we can move on to the P L A Y thing!!!!!!"

His way is kind of nice, if you ask me! I always wonder, though, if he gets "teased" by his dogpark friends at all...

I thought that too!!!! I don't want him to look "wussy!" I don't think they do, they're "too cool"!