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Even a dog that is otherwise housetrained may exhibit excitement urination
by leaving dribbles and puddles of urine at your feet and on the floor when greeting you. It's normal for some dogs to urinate
when they become excited.
Excitement Urination
Excitement urination usually occurs
in puppies and is caused by lack of bladder control. The puppy is not aware that he is urinating, and any punishment will
only confuse him. Since he does not know why you are angry, the excitement urination will quickly become submissive urination
in an attempt to appease you. As your puppy matures and develops bladder control, the problem will usually disappear. However,
in the mean time, it is probably a good idea to do something to help keep your puppy dry.The best treatment for excitement urination is to prevent your dog from becoming overly excited in the first
place. You can do this by exposing your dog to the stimulus that excites him, over and over until it no longer excites him.
Most likely, your dog gets excited and wets when you return home. If so, simply ignore him for several minutes. Don't even
look at him. Then leave again for a few minutes, return
and ignore, leave, return and ignore. Keep doing this until you can see that your dog is not only unexcited, but is actually
getting bored with the whole thing. If excitement urination is a problem when visitors arrive, have them do this too. When
your dog has calmed down and is no longer excited when you come in, then very quietly and gently say hello. If any signs of
excitement or urinating appears, quickly exit and repeat the coming-and-going routine. A rapid sequence of heel-sits will
capture your dog's attention and channel his excitement to the game of heeling and sitting instead of urinating. Remember
to ignore all excitement urination and never scold
Submissive
Urination
Submissive wetting or urination is a normal
way for dogs and puppies to demonstrate submissive behavior. Even a dog that is otherwise housetrained may leave dribbles
and puddles of urine at your feet and on the floor when greeting you. Submissive urination is the ultimate show of respect
and deference for higher rank. It occurs frequently with young puppies who have not yet learned and perfected other social
skills and means of showing respect. Submissive urination in adult dogs is usually a sign of insecurity. Often unsocialized
and abused dogs submissive urination. Other dogs that engane in submissive urination may simply have not been shown that there
are more acceptable ways to show respect, such as paw raising (shake hands) or hand licking (give a kiss). Submissive urination
may be present in overly sensitive or mistreated dog because they feel the need to constantly apologize. This state is often
caused by excessive or delayed punishment which frightens and confuses the dog without teaching him how to make amends. The
dog resorts to the only way he knows to show respect and fear, by submissive urination. When your dog urinates in this manner,
it is best to just ignore him. If you try to reassure him, he will think you are praising him for urinating and will urinate
even more. If you scold him, he will feel an even greater need to apologize by urinating. Either reassurance or scolding will
only make submissive urination worse. Treatment of submissive urination must be directed towards building your dog's confidence
and showing him other ways to demonstrate respect. The quickest way to accomplish this is by teaching your dog a few basic
obedience exercises. A dog that can earn praise by obeying a simple routine of "Come here, sit, shake hands," will soon develop
self esteem and confidence. A confident dog who can say, "Hello, Boss" by sitting and shaking hands does not feel the need
to urinate at his owner's feet.
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