Oscar update: "playful and loving nature"

Oscar update from Lynn. Oscar is from Ernest and Rosie's litter of eleven pups.

"Dear Jane,
We have so enjoyed reading all the recent pupdates that I thought I would share the latest for Oscar as he continues to enrich our lives every day with his playful and loving nature.
Of course, there are a few challenges; he is still very clingy and won’t let us out of his sight for more than a few moments.  Whilst he sleeps well in his crate at night, he will now only rest during the day/evening when he can lift an eyelid and check we are close by which is frustrating.
In an attempt to increase his confidence, we have recently started sending him to a dog-minder for odd days here and there. This is working well as he is such a sociable little chap that he loves spending time with the other dogs/humans and it gives us some time apart.
He does seem to have a delicate stomach with bouts of diarrhoea from time to time. We have settled on a diet of Pure dehydrated food which suits him very well. We also give him about 1/3 of his food as Platinum puppy semi-dried which is easier to use for hand feeding/training. As long as we steer clear of cheese and any random treats, he is usually ok.
He has definitely started his adolescence which, as you’d expect, throws up some challenging behaviours. One day he suddenly started cocking his leg to pee and it’s his new favourite thing to do. We can barely walk 6 feet without stopping to christen the scenery but he has recently started doing this in the house !
I’ve read so much advice about neutering as the method to address this but we really feel it’s too soon as he is still physically and emotionally immature. I’d love to know your thoughts on this topic.
He’s so intelligent that training is going very well. Our only problem is trying to stay one step ahead of him all the time.  His recall has become a bit hit and miss since hitting puberty so he mostly walks on a long line at the moment. He has no interest in chasing a ball but prefers to get that nose to the ground and grunt like a pig as he chases a scent.
We aren’t quite sure how much more growing he still has to do. I haven’t weighed him for a few weeks but estimate that he’s currently about 10kg and 38cm at the withers. He’s incredibly long in the body and uses this to his advantage to reach up and stick his nose into everything ( one of the photos shows Oscar demonstrating how very LONG he is)
We send very best wishes for a happy Christmas and new year
Kind regards
Lynn & Graeme"

"Hello Lynn,
Thanks for the update. The way I have stopped marking indoors is to carry a tablecloth (slightly damp is better) on your shoulder and if you see him about to cock his leg flick it at his bottom and say, "No." A few times normally caught in the act and a flick up the bottom with a firm "No" normally does the trick along with giving him praise when he marks outside, so he learns where marking is okay. I have five entire male dogs that live indoors and they know not to mark indoors by this method. Males most often start this as they become adults and if/when you castrate him, it often curbs this behaviour but, if an established behaviour by the time you decide to castrate him, it may not, so it is a good idea to teach him his boundaries for marking now. Hope this helps.
Wishing you a Wonderful First Christmas with Oscar!
Love from us all at Poundlane
Jane x"