AoS: mine does this too. Like mounting other dogs (or a leg…), it’s not nearly as rare in female dogs as people seem to think. I suspect folks who think it’s exclusively a male behaviour either haven’t had the opportunity to observe many dogs, or just assume if a dog cocks a leg that it’s male without stooping to look carefully ;-)
My female chihuahua did this too, back in my childhood. Usually when out on a walk rather than at home, she liked peeing on trees and people’s fences. Her other trick was to use a handstand to pee as high as she could on a tree trunk. A territorial thing I suppose, since she didn’t do it at home.
AoS, are you telling this dog how she can or can’t pee based on her gender? Shame on you ;)
My dog is a boy and he mostly squats to pee. He was about 10 months old before leg-cocking even occurred to him, but he still only does it a few times on a walk and only if there is something to aim at (he always misses).
Catwhisperer, I hang my head in shame. Most male dogs will squat until they’re between 6-12 months when the territorial behaviour kicks in.
Barbara, ibbica, it’s something I’ve never noticed, yet I’ve always been around dogs. My late mother both bred and showed German shepherds and ran a dog training school, so I spent a lot of time at dog shows, etc. I guess I respected their privacy too much to not watch them pee :-)
Holms, my current dog, a corgi/border collie mix, does that handstand thing occasionally. I think it’s a combination of territorial marking and leaving the scent as high as possible to fool other dogs into thinking he’s a lot bigger than he is (male pandas do this as well).
Cocking a leg, even for a male dog, can sometimes be a problem. One of our dogs recently injured his left leg, but still tried to lift his right leg, as usual – and promptly fell over.
I was curious to see if anyone had actually researched the frequency of female dogs cocking a leg while urinating, and there’s quite a rabbit hole… also, apparently dogs have twelve described urinating positions:
Clever, but is Maggie a transgender? Cis-female dogs tend to squat rather than cock a leg.
There should be a special art prize for hounds.
On second thoughts, that should really be a literature prize. Maybe Maggie would qualify for a Nobel.
Acolyte of Satan: my girl dog lifts her leg. It is rare, but it happens. She has done this even before she was spayed.
AoS: mine does this too. Like mounting other dogs (or a leg…), it’s not nearly as rare in female dogs as people seem to think. I suspect folks who think it’s exclusively a male behaviour either haven’t had the opportunity to observe many dogs, or just assume if a dog cocks a leg that it’s male without stooping to look carefully ;-)
My female chihuahua did this too, back in my childhood. Usually when out on a walk rather than at home, she liked peeing on trees and people’s fences. Her other trick was to use a handstand to pee as high as she could on a tree trunk. A territorial thing I suppose, since she didn’t do it at home.
AoS, are you telling this dog how she can or can’t pee based on her gender? Shame on you ;)
My dog is a boy and he mostly squats to pee. He was about 10 months old before leg-cocking even occurred to him, but he still only does it a few times on a walk and only if there is something to aim at (he always misses).
Catwhisperer, I hang my head in shame. Most male dogs will squat until they’re between 6-12 months when the territorial behaviour kicks in.
Barbara, ibbica, it’s something I’ve never noticed, yet I’ve always been around dogs. My late mother both bred and showed German shepherds and ran a dog training school, so I spent a lot of time at dog shows, etc. I guess I respected their privacy too much to not watch them pee :-)
Holms, my current dog, a corgi/border collie mix, does that handstand thing occasionally. I think it’s a combination of territorial marking and leaving the scent as high as possible to fool other dogs into thinking he’s a lot bigger than he is (male pandas do this as well).
Cocking a leg, even for a male dog, can sometimes be a problem. One of our dogs recently injured his left leg, but still tried to lift his right leg, as usual – and promptly fell over.
I was curious to see if anyone had actually researched the frequency of female dogs cocking a leg while urinating, and there’s quite a rabbit hole… also, apparently dogs have twelve described urinating positions:
https://www.dailydogdiscoveries.com/dog-peeing-positions/
You’re welcome, indeed