May 17, 2011
Our 7-month male squirts pee when we approach it. Is there a problem?
Full Question:
I have a 7 month old GS puppy who, when he was younger, was harshly corrected several times by shaking the scruff of the neck. At about 12 weeks old the dog bit me while being corrected, I don't know if it was out of anger of fear. That situation was quickly settled with even more aggressive shaking. Now when the dog is doing something that he perceives as wrong and is called to me he kind of cowers and even urinates a little until he realizes he is not going to be corrected and even if he is corrected, seconds later he is back to his normal self. I don't see it as a temperament problem; he gets along great with everyone and other dogs. He doesn't show this submissive behavior to anyone else. He is also doing bite work on the tug which he loves. He also very willing to work. Should I be concerned that his spirit is broke? He doesn't display this behavior to anyone else and he will stand his ground with a stranger if they make any aggressive gestures. Any advice would be appreciated. 
Ed's Answer:
There are a couple of things going on here. First, males that are 10 to 11 months are notorious "SQUIRTERS." For some weird reason a great many of them at this age will run up to you and get so excited (or nervous) that they squirt pee. Do not get upset about it. The only thing to do is to ignore it and it will go away. Even though it is annoying.
One does need to learn to gauge the severity of the corrections you give your dogs. Dogs are not dumb. They have excellent memories. While I subscribe to the old adage "that one good correction is worth 1,000 nagging corrections," it also only takes one serious mistake to have a bad setback with your dog. This is most often seen in bite work with young dogs. If a new helper pushes a young dog into defense and then avoidance, that dog can do an about turn and want nothing to do with this work anymore. It can take months to repair the damage done in 2 minutes. I have also been guilty of over correcting a pup for something I don't like. You need to be careful with corrections on puppies.
One does need to learn to gauge the severity of the corrections you give your dogs. Dogs are not dumb. They have excellent memories. While I subscribe to the old adage "that one good correction is worth 1,000 nagging corrections," it also only takes one serious mistake to have a bad setback with your dog. This is most often seen in bite work with young dogs. If a new helper pushes a young dog into defense and then avoidance, that dog can do an about turn and want nothing to do with this work anymore. It can take months to repair the damage done in 2 minutes. I have also been guilty of over correcting a pup for something I don't like. You need to be careful with corrections on puppies.
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