Using Pet Urine Alarm for Territorial Marking - Mini Case Studies
These pets volunteered to test out the SprayAlert Alarm to reduce their marking behavior. All were habitually urine marking territory in their homes. They were kind enough to assist in our product research and development. We avoided pets that were marking in many places or all over their homes. Behaviorist assistance is strongly recommended for them.
Approximately two-thirds of the dogs showed positive results. Some were totally cured of the marking habit, others improving or requiring occasional reminders. They were led to the proper urination area when the alarm sounded. Cats have proven to be difficult at direct behavior modification They require addressing issues such as litter boxes or stressors in their home environment. See Cat Spraying and Marking. The SprayAlert is helpful as a cleanup aid for cats.
The best dog candidates for behavior improvement are those marking territory in a handful of places or less, with more than a few drops of urine (enough to trigger the sensor).
Oslo
Oslo is male Norwegian Elkhound, unneutered, 7 yrs old at the time. He had marked on the couch and ottoman in same room almost daily for 2-3 years and had sired 4 litters, 23 pups. The SprayAlert Alarm was used to stop his indoor spraying. This is the usage history, monitored and recorded by motion sensing camera:
1. The unit was set up using the rectangular sensor only, Oslo peed on couch, missed urine sensor.
2. Dad added the long horizontal sensor to increase the coverage area. Oslo lifts leg, sprays, sets off alarm. He quickly flees. (See the video on home page)
3. Oslo repeats marking the couch, sets off alarm again. He flees rapidly.
4. Oslo’s nose trips the alarm while sniffing the couch/sensor, from nose moisture, he runs away
rapidly. There are no more alarm hits after this. Oslo avoids the spot on the couch and the ottoman.
Comments from Oslo's Dad :
We kept the alarm in place for one more week after April 20, then removed the alarm and sensors. Every once in a while we sound the alarm, "with No Pee" for a reminder to Oslo, he flees to his "safe spot" after reminder. Other than marking, he is house-broken and "asks" to go outside regularly.
George
Labrador/Whippet, 12 year old male, marking all his life, 2-3 times/month, on bedpost
"Nothing to report yet other than the constantly flashing green light is slightly irritating at night, I've had to mask it. Forgot to say had one false alarm, not sure what caused it as wasn't in the room at the time, may have been dog's nose.
...Thanks for your e-mail, the good news is I haven’t had any more alarms (false or positive) since we last spoke, so your product appears to have been a success. Prior to installing, my dog was urinating in that spot on a regular basis. We had one false alarm and two actual alarms I believe.
FYI I also used an enzyme based cleaner to take away the scent of urine which is supposed to help prevent re-offenders. So all I can say is thank you very much for allowing me to use one of your prototypes and if you need any references in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask."
Floppy
"Floppy is a Jack Russell terrier and is very yappy... (6 year old male)
Our dog, Floppy, constantly pees all over the corners of our sofa and it makes the house stink. This'd be a good idea to train him and make him stop.
Happy new year to you. I did receive the unit. I am pleased to inform you that the unit is really working well. Floppy is no longer wetting my sofa xx. Yes he did set the alarm twice and from then on no more.
Ah yes, Floppy may seem cute but he is very naughty haha. We adopted him back in December 2015 and this year he shall be turning 7 on the 19th of July. He started peeing as soon as we got him, we thought it may have been because of the change in environment. I've been keeping him in my room during the nights so that he isn't lonely and since then (around December 2016) he's not been peeing in the house which is great.
I am more than happy to let you use the pictures of floppy on your website, he loves to be photographed though acts shy sometimes. He's photogenic and he knows it! :D"
Tank
Tank! 4 year old male Chihuahua, he is 9 lbs and the boss...
I have chihuahua's and the male pees near furniture corners so I need something that I can use on the floor. He goes by the corner of my desk and of our bed. They are far apart.
...It seems like once he peed and triggered a sensor he then avoided that area, which is good... but I had it next to the crate with a paddy pad, that he is supposed to use.. so he didn’t want to go back over there
...The chihuahua boy seemed that when he tripped that alarm once or twice.. he then avoided an area within a few feet.. he’d pick a new area."
Bowser
Bowser is a 5 year male old pug mix.
"Sorry, I have been thinking about needing to message you. Mostly it has worked! The first one I have set up is on the edge of the recliner. Since I have placed it there, he has only marked once! The cat did chew the cord, so I had to use the wider rectangular sheet.
The very first night he tried to mark and was startled. Even if it didn't stop him, (which it did) it alerted me that I hadn't been watching! That was great! "
Addie
Chihuahua 3 year old female, hyper, very active, very sensitive to noises.
"She has been marking since I had her (year and half), every couple of days at night, 2 am. 2 spots repetitive, small puddle. Couch leg & floor/ under a chair
Very much in your face, having difficulty potty-training. Hit and miss (literally, ha).
May 22: Update from Tom: she has been doing mostly better but she still has a couple of accidents.
July 17: She's doing great! Probably only one accident in the past 60 days (vs all the time)."
I lay the Urine sensor flat on the floor. One bad thing though about flat is her feet can set it off just by walking on it."
Scout
Maltese, 10 year old male
"SprayAlert worked perfectly for my Maltese, Scout! The vet has always told us Scout marks as a dominant behavior, and over the years we have tried everything! We have used belly bands, anxiety medications, and behavioral therapy with no results! Thankfully an internet search led me to SprayAlert. I'm so glad I found this product! It worked wonders for Scout.
The interesting part is it worked in a completely different method than we expected. It worked by deterring the behavior that is a precursor to Scout's marking. Scout always begins by sniffing the area he is about to mark. So we set up SprayAlert in his favorite marking spot, and when he approached to sniff, his little wet nose triggered the alarm. This startled him and caused him to back away. He did not mark then, and still has not to this day. We were able to correct the behavior with no mess! It has probably been a year since we first used SprayAlert and we keep it on hand in case we need it again, but so far the problem has been solved!"
Harper Lee
Harper Lee, male 4 year old Irish Setter, hyper, very active. Too smart for his own good. pouts.
"Holds a grudge if he doesn't get his way started a year ago, sometime 5 x a week, tod varies. 1 main spot that is 95% of the time 1 secondary, repetitive, large puddle, couch leg & floor / under a chair. Solutions tried already, if any reprimand / crate
I think that the louder alarm may be the key. When setting up the alarm and testing it Harper responded to the louder sound.
Harper is still NOT marking thanks to you."
Kobe
"I have a 9 year old male Yorkie Poo that is fixed, but continues to mark or pee in the house always in the same 3 specific areas: the right and left front wooden legs of an antique chair in my bedroom and the door frame of my bedroom closet...
Anyhow, last night apparently he marked the closet door frame - the unit did go off as I had to reset it, but it did not wake me up nor did it appear to have stopped him from marking because the carpet there was wet this morning.
...So, I have now increased the audio level from low to high on both units and I will be setting up the camera nightly and... having more patience! LOL. I really think for a dog (or at least Kobe) rather than having the sensors on a vertical surface, they need to be on the floor. Especially in the case of a small dog because there is so little that comes out, it needs to be a large sensor on the floor in the area where he tends to go (I'm not sure if this is a marking behavior or just peeing)"
Conclusion: Didn't work well enough for Kobe; not enough urine when marking to be effective
Simba
Bengal 7 year old male.
"We have five cats. Simba (aka Rotten Ralph), is the Alpha Bengal. He was occasionally marking by the front door and in a corner in the laundry room. Things got worse with the interaction with the feral cat about 6-weeks ago. He marks in 3 places in the house. Two by front door (left as above, right rarely) and an corner in the dining room (also rare). All areas protected with absorbent pads.
...Set things up Saturday. Unfortunately, we have had two days running now where the urinating has happened in the
morning. The alarm has not appeared to have had a deterrent effect. April 19: My wife thinks we need a unit that works like a Taser. The "willfulness" of this Bengal is something else! The urine flow, from the amount of it on the absorbent pad and newspapers, is not at all being interrupted. Indeed, the papers and pad this morning were pulled up indicating that he simply continues to go and hangs around despite the alarm."
Summary: Simba ignored the alarm
Cooper
"Our pet is a 3-year old Schnoodle dog. We do use a shock collar on him to control excessive barking and it's quite effective. He typically marks one spot and will sometimes do it shortly after coming in from outside. He's been doing this for about a year since our daughter moved in temporarily.
...After being "shocked" by the alarm, he has moved to peeing on a chair in our living room and not gone once in the entryway.
...He's certainly better 90 percent. Actually, he is much better. Has never marked the area we had the alarm for a month or so."
Genghis & Ronin
Genghis & Ronin are male, lab and pit. Quiet, shy, normal activity level, very sensitive to noises, responds well to commands.
Been spraying or marking 4 years, twice a day in 2 locations. Solutions tried already: Vet exam, Ammonia spray, vinegar, oxiclean, verbal.
"The dogs have set them off twice last week and as of today no messes.
...Hi, yes things are getting better. I stopped keeping a log only because the peeing started to be random. I can go a week without the sensors at all and they won't pee then sometimes they will. So when they do pee, without the sensors being up, I will put it up and then it stops. It has definitely reduced it from every day to now maybe once a week. So we are getting there. This product definitely works.
...Hi, yes it's been good. The dogs stopped peeing until I decided to take down the alarms. I have put them back up but I've needed new sensor pads. They have since found a new place to go. Lol."
Camino
"Our black male cat Camino was found on the street when he was 4-5 weeks old. At this time we already had another cat in our apartment and Camino became the second cat in our family. Camino did not have any spraying issues for two years until we decided to host my friend's male cat. For 10 days we had 3 male cats in our apartment and it sounds like a group of mammoths was running around at 5 o'clock in the morning. Camino liked his new buddy and played with him a lot. Only a few months later we discovered that all our apartment doors, wooden furniture and some walls were covered in Camino's urine. It seems like Camino decided to show that he is the dominant cat.
I cleaned everything multiple times but Camino continued to spray all over the apartment. After 3 months of cleaning, talking to the cat about it, and spraying him with water, we ran out of options. My other half went to the internet and found a Pet Alert devices. We decided to try it. We bought several Pet Alert devices and placed then at the bottom of the couch, at the doors, and furniture. Eventually, our cat Camino learned that as soon as he sprays the siren goes on which scares him and he stopped spraying at those places where devices are. We were so relieved as it was very devastating to deal with his spraying and cleaning the apartment all over again. Spray Alert tremendously reduced the amount of spraying. It seems like Camino is scared when he sees the device and that is why he does not spray at the places where Spray Alert devices are. Although, in a while he may forget about the effect of Spray Alert, and spray there and the siren starts again reminding him about the effect and he stops doing it again.
We did not eliminate Camino's spraying issue 100% but due to Spray Alert we decreased it a lot. Our apartment will still require additional Spray Alert devices to exclude all the possible places for Camino to spray. We are very happy to have Spray Alert in our home as it is the only device that we could find that fixes the cat's spraying issue. We are very grateful to those who came up with this device and who manufactures them. This device is a life saver."