Fox Marking
This is something potential owners must be aware of. Most foxes can be successfully litter trained
or alternatively taught to use "puppy pads" and be very clean - however, 100% litter training a fox
is impossible, for the following reasons:
1. Most foxes will "happy pee" when they encounter a friendly dog or when they see you come
back home after a day at work. They leave just a few drops of urine on the floor, nothing to be too
concerned about. This is just a sign of excitement and happiness. One way of avoiding this is to
always greet your fox OUTSIDE and not in the house when you have been away for the
day/evening.
2. When playing with a dog, if the fox gets annoyed, or grumpy, the dog play bites a bit too rough,
or the dog tries to steal away one of the toys the fox was playing with at the moment, there are a
few chances the fox will urinate on or near the dog. This is NOT something that happens often, it
is rare and can also occur when a fox is frightened by a rough or loud dog or person.
3. The marking: probably the worst scenario or urinating/defecating. Foxes do sometimes mark.
They don't spray (like a cat would) or lift up their rear leg (like a dog would). Most foxes will mark
what they claim as theirs, such as their favourite toy or their bed/nest.
4. What is more frequent in their marking habit is marking their food bowls. The big majority of pet
foxes will defecate (and sometimes urinate) in or next to their food bowl. This is a natural habit,
which, like digging, cannot be ''trained out'' of the fox, so prospective owners must work to avoid
this by removing the foxes bowls after a meal and avoiding leaving out uneaten bones or raw hide
chews etc.
To all prospective owners out there: if your fox pees or defecates near or in food bowls, don't think
you're doing something wrong, or that your fox is not litter trained. It's just your fox's way to see
that the bowl or toy, or whatever else they might mark, is theirs.
An odor eliminator spray from your local pet shop is a great idea for avoiding unpleasant smells
after foxy accidents in the house or car.