April 19, 2011

I have a 3-yr-old American Bulldog preparing for the CGC test. Since day one, she has been a submissive wetter. Will this get my dog disqualified?

Full Question:
Hello,

My name is Katrina. I have a three year old American Bulldog that is preparing to take the CGC test. I got her when she was six weeks old. Since day one she has been a submissive wetter when she gets excited or when anyone bends over to pet her. The vet told me that she would outgrow it when we took her for her first checkup, but she never did. I have even tried to have people to give her a treat as they bend over and pet her. I thought this would help eliminate her urination by giving her a good association when being petted, but it has not done any good. So as you probably already know one of the disqualifications of the CGC test is urinating at an inappropriate time. Will this get my dog disqualified during the second test of the CGC test (sitting politely for petting)?
Cindy
Cindy Cindy's Answer:
I am not sure if you will fail the test or not. It may be at the discretion of the tester.

Personally, I would not be putting my dog in a situation where she was going to be set up to do this. I want my dog to feel confident that I will not put her in a position where she feels nervous or uncomfortable.

I tell people NOT to touch, bend over and make direct eye contact with dogs that are so submissive they urinate when approached. A CGC test is not worth my dog’s self esteem. Having people continue to approach dogs like this will not solve the problem, in many cases it makes it worse.

If you spend some time using the search function (located in the upper left hand corner of the web site) you will find many useful articles and posts about submissive urination.

Cindy

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Expert Dog Trainer Cindy Rhodes
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