As you walk around Italy, you will often notice water bottles placed in front of houses. This is neither a superstition nor a custom but a very clever trick.
If you are used to visiting Italy, this surely has not escaped your notice. Everywhere, plastic bottles filled with water are placed in front of doors, windows, on street corners or against the facades of buildings. For what ? This is not to always have water at hand, nor to keep ants away, but to counter the “territorial marking” of dogs and cats.
Male cats and dogs tend to mark out their territory by urinating all over the place. Against trees, lampposts, car wheels, bicycles, scooters, benches, doors and house fronts. This is called “territorial marking”. VS’is an instinctive behavior, which serves them to delimit their domain. It is a means of olfactory communication, essential for these animals. Dogs mark their territory by depositing pheromones through urine. This signaling, odorless for humans, is an identity card for other dogs, indicating their presence and their status. Cats, on the other hand, have a more diversified way of marking. They can urinate, but also rub their head or claw to deposit their pheromones. These behaviors serve to create a sense of security and avoid conflict.
Due to the strong and unpleasant smell of urine (especially in summer), this can be quite annoying. In addition, the urine of our faithful four-legged friends can be harmful to human health. The idea of this trick is that the reflection of the water in the sun scares the animals and encourages them to defecate elsewhere. Although this practice is widespread from north to south and some Italians are convinced of it, there are however no scientific studies that prove its effectiveness.
Some suggest that the use of sulphur, often yellow in color, might be effective. But beware: if this substance actually repels cats and dogs, because they can’t stand its smell, its use is prohibited and can also be dangerous for animal health. The other solution, if your dog has already marked certain areas, is to clean those areas thoroughly to remove the odor. Dogs tend to urinate in the same places again, so eliminating the scent can help deter this behavior.