This is onviously dominance related

[Punkygirl0101]

So Cartman doesn't respect me as the pack leader.

When Cartman is outside and starts to bark, or does another unwanted behavior I call him inside from the doorway. He will start walking towards me, and then stop and hike on something while looking directly at me, and then come inside when he finished.

What am I supposed to do about this behavior? Go outside as he hikes and bring him in? Stop him from marking? Is it in fact a dominance thing? When the neighbor's dogs go outside, they sometimes like to go to the corner of the fence and start barking, and not usually but sometimes my dogs run outside really fast as a pack and go straight to the fence and go crazy barking and growling, so I do my little pack call "DOGS COME!" and they all come immediately except Cartman who stops to hike on something before he comes. Hes only been doing this the past year or less (Hes 7 years old). Its really frustrating. He does come inside though when I tell him to, but he always stops to mark.

[k9hullio_sam]

I think Mandi does this same sort of thing. She doesn't mark, but she will take her time coming to me to sniff, walking slow, etc. It isn't everytime, but when I am 'interupting her' exploring or barking or something. It is sort of annoying. I am interested in everyone's response.

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

Is it possible that the marking is in response to the other stimulus (dog he was barking at or whatever), and he's looking at you a little nervously because he recognizes you're displeased as he does it? Have you tried approaching him as he's marking and seeing what his response is?

My dogs (okay, Missie. LOL) often do a similar behavior to Mandie's, and I've found it's typically when I'm making them nervous with my body language and tone of voice. Because typically their slow behavior is irritating when I'm in a hurry, and they sense my tension in running late or whatever and are hesitant to come. Missie seems to do it out of pure rebellion, but I attribute many things she does to rebellion that are really something else, just 'cause calling her rebellious is more fun. lol

Sometimes it just seems like when they're barking at another dog or "defending their territory" they go into a whole 'nother mode that is dominant, and plumb forgot their place until they've calmed down. I've seen it many times with many different dogs, but I'm not sure if it's a fact or why it would happen.

[Punkygirl0101]

Have you tried approaching him as he's marking and seeing what his response is?

When he sees me approaching him he usually continues doing it until I get right next to him, then he runs around me inside.

The thing about Cartman is, at the other house our next door neighbors didn't have dogs, and he would just be in the backyard not doing anything bad whatsoever and it will just be time to come inside and he would do it still.. Here he does it when I bring them when they are barking, cause he hasn't actually been outside when it was time to close the door (we have lived here 2 months).