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July 06, 2011

My 4 month old puppy submissively urinates whenever he gets excited. I thought with training & confidence this would go away, should I give him treats every time he doesn’t pee?

Full Question:
My puppy is a boxer mix. He is about 4 months old and is very playful and friendly with everyone. The problem is excitement/submissive urination. He will run up to someone with his tail wagging, but when they pet him he pees.

I have raised 2 dogs now by a Koehler method with positive reinforcement. They were great dogs and eventually did not need to be on a leash to continuously heel and immediately sit when I stopped walking. Neither of those dogs had a urination problem though.

He is young but has already mastered COME, SIT, LAY, and SPEAK. I assumed with training he would build confidence, but no dice, he still pees. I am stumped and worry that this behavior will not go away. Should I give treats every time he does not pee?
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
You should ignore the peeing and set the puppy up to be successful. Submissive urination is not something you can correct away and you can't reward it away either.

At 4 months old he's still a baby, he will outgrow this if you are aware of how to manage him. don't let him run up to people and don't let people bend over him and pet him. Have EVERYONE ignore him.

I'd read the article Ed wrote on The Groundwork to Becoming your Puppy's Pack Leader.

You can read this to get our definition of socializing.

I’d also recommend Your Puppy 8 weeks to 8 Months and Pack Structure for the Family Pet.

Do a search on submissive urinating, you will find a lot of info on our website. The search box is located in the upper right corner of every page of Leerburg.com.

Cindy Rhodes

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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