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Excited Urination

Posted June 28th, 2009 by davidjames
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Has anybody had to deal with this? When people come to visit, the dog would get a bit excited to see people and begin peeing. First you should consult your vet to make sure it's not a physical problem. The easiest thing to do is to minimize their intake of water if you know your going to have company. Also notify guests before coming over to try not to over excite the dog. Anybody else have any tips or suggestions?

Comments

Excited Urination

lyndeelu's picture
On June 29th, 2009 lyndeelu says:

Train the visitors to take absolutely no notice of the dog until the excitement of arrival is over and done with. ( I have a friend with a dog with a similar problem and this resolved the issue. Course, when I dropped in to see them a couple of weeks ago for the first time in several years - guess what.... back to peeing on the floor in excitement. But, that was as much my fault because I immediately responded to the dog's welcome.)
It is also something that the dog tends to grow out of.. like bedwetting for kids.

Thank you

On July 6th, 2009 davidjames says:

Thanks for the comment Lyndellu... :)

Excited Urination

ladogtrainer's picture
On August 11th, 2009 ladogtrainer says:

Bill Campbell in his book Behavior Problems in Dogs (which I summarize below) makes several suggestions that have proved effective with my clients.

While many pups will "grow out of it," resolving the problem early reduces the owner's frustration and irritation with the pup at an age when it is very easily influenced by the emotions of owners and visitors.

I have also seen it expressed in young dogs when greeting other dogs, who are not behaving particularly dominantly; often the pup is not aware that it is urinating, thus it is not deliberate. 'These pups lack confidence over all, and to correct the problem its confidence level must be raised so that the unconsciously conditioned urination is not triggered.'

  • Teach the pup to respond to simple cues of Come, Sit, Stay and Lie Down on its bed, and give immediate praise even for starting to make the appropriate responses. All teaching must be done without physical force, or even gentle positioning of the puppy. Ten year old girls are excellent at this task; so emulate their vocal and physical mannerisms
  • Petting is done palm up, under the chin and on the throat and chest.
  • If homecoming times stimulate urination, have the initial contact occur outside the house and repeatedly step away from the pup while remaining upright, to prevent the pup from beginning to squat.
  • Upon entering the house, ignore the pup for at least 2 minutes. Five minutes would be better.
  • After the initial excitement has diminished, silently crouch down like a baseball catcher or put one knee on the floor, and pet as described above.
  • Associate the phrase "good dog" with petting, and say it when putting down the pup's dish at feeding times.
  • Avoid all scolding vocal inflections; a few owners praise with a low voice which can be interpreted by the pup as a growl; men often do this. Be sure to use an upbeat tone of voice.

After two weeks try out a situation which triggered urination in the past. For example, if merely leaning toward the pup and calling it has stimulated wetting in the past, then lean toward it and call. If the pup starts to squat, straighten up and walk away quickly, calling the pup to follow to interrupt is behavior.

Success should occur within six weeks.

bill@ladogtrainer.com
training dogs from the heart since 1983

Bill Campbell - a pinch of

Aidan's picture
On August 12th, 2009 Aidan says:

Bill Campbell - a pinch of operant, a dash of respondent, and a dollop of ethology blended in the perfect amounts!

Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com

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