You know that you have managed to achieve successful result in bichon frise training. Then all of a sudden, you discovered dog urine scent in the doorway, table leg and other furniture in the house. How come these things happen when you are well aware that you used effective and appropriate methods in house training? If you see large puddles of urine on the floor, it simply suggests that house training may not be as successful as you want it to be. Perhaps you need more time and determination in order to achieve your desired result. However, if you see smaller amount of urine, the issue is not on unsuccessful or ineffective house training. Your nice friend is simply marking his territory.

Why do dogs urine mark? To a dog's point of view, urine marking is different from wanting to pee. We all know that dogs have incredible sense of smell. This sense of smell is an important part of canine communication. The scent is left to tell other dogs a message, such as whose territory is it, where the marking dog hangs out and his social order. If the marking dog is female, she will also include her mating availability. A dog who's nervous because he is alone at home, has feelings of insecurity or has separation anxiety may also mark to build confidence and reassure himself that everything is alright.

Dogs that are not neutered or spayed and are not castrated are more likely to mark urine than neutered, spayed or castrated dogs. Male dogs are more likely to mark urine than female dogs however, a female dog may mark too to advertise her mating availability.

Like any other dog problems, there are various ways to stop your dog from marking urine. Puppies should be neutered early to prevent the habit from forming. If you have an older dog, neutering can help reduce or even alleviate the problem, however, you have to do something to break the habit that has been formed.

Neutering is not the only way to stop a dog from marking urine. If an owner doesn't approve of neutering, constant supervision is necessary to break the habit. Instead of allowing your dog to roam around the house freely, make supervision a lot easier by confining him to one area of the house. To catch him in the act, watch for signs like sniffing and circling. Then, the moment he started to left his leg to mark, make a noise loud enough to distract him but not too loud to scare him to death. When he looks around to find out where the noise come from, give him the "no pee" command.

And one more thing... don't forget to praise your dog when he pees in an appropriate place. Bichon frise training will never be successful without praising your bichon.