We have a 14 week old male Doberman puppy. He was the dominate pup in the litter. He lives in the house and is doing very well in his crate training. Can't remember last time he had "normal" accident.

BUT, he gets excited and pees all over whenever he greets me. When I come home, he won't come to me, but gets his tail going and is obviously exited. I'll go to him and start petting and loving on him and he starts peeing.
This started a couple of weeks ago. We thought he was just getting too excited, but I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't some kind of dominance issue as he won't come to me any more.

He doesn't do this with my wife or our three kids or friends, only me. He spends a lot of time during the day with my wife. She is his favorite of the house. She spoils him a lot.

What is this behaviour a indication of?

Thanks Craig

Generally it is a submissive/fear thing. It is unusual for it to show up this late though, has this been going on for a while, or is it a new thing? Have you been the source of confrontations with the dog? How have you handled it when it has happened?

Punishing a dog for submissive urination only makes the problem worse. The dog can't control it as it is a reflex caused by some sort of fear. From what you are saying here the dog fears you handling him.

We haven't been punishing him when he does this. We just put him in his crate while we clean it up. It just started about two weeks ago. I'm a little rougher voiced when correcting him. The wife and kids have rather mild voices.

How do I stop this from happening?

I just went back through your posts... you haven't had the dog long right? This could be residual from his pervious handling. Best thing is to avoid going up to him in the house right away, if it is just excitement let that subside a bit before handling him. Be gentle with your voice, some dogs are soft and take our harsh tones to heart. I know it is hard to change your normal way of speaking, but you can do it!

Depending on the dog he may also view being put in the crate as punishment. He may have done this squirt thing out of happiness the first time, but now when he sees you he thinks he will be banished to the crate, which could be feeding the cycle we are trying to break. I also found that making sure the "well" is empty will help a lot <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

All I can really tell you is that while it is a pain in the bottom, most all dogs do grow out of it unless they are either medically unsound or have DEEP abuse issues.

We've had him about six weeks. I wonder if spending more time with him would help? I'm self employed. I can bring him to the office with me.

well, that depends... does the office have carpet, or tile? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

HunterWarrior,
As mentioned in an earlier post it could be a pre-ownership problem that causes this, also the tone of your voice could be an issue to. I have a very strong dominating voice, that's all I use until dog training then I turn it down except for the phooe.
My GSD Riley was an abused dog I got him at 15 months he had a slew of nerve problems urinating when loud voices were used or when greeting someone especially me a submissive issue like someone else mentioned.
Bonding with the new pup is going to be your first steps, to me this is a big key to a successful relationship with your dog. Trust under any circumstance. Long walks with solid heart felt praise when your dog does well. The exercise Ed show on Flinks tape Building Drive and Focus (In my Arms), settles the dog down and builds a closer physical contact relationship, especially if the pup is nervious towards you in certain situations.
HW building a solid foundation with fun motivated obedience short to the point exersices, with praise, calm voice used with a soft hand, corrections have to be done with common scence you will see how the dog reacts to vocal and physical praise or corrections you decide which works best.
Take your time don't push anything, but don't let the dog get away with anything also. Time is not an issue. Also I found out with Riley my GSD 3 years old now, was abused if you do fun things obstical courses, walks in differant locations (builds confidence in the dog) he will look to you for that support. This builds your bond together. There is always an underlying issue, It's just a matter of figuring out what causes the problem.
Riley is excellent now for his job and goes to work with me everyday, His bite is full and calm when doing apprehensions real and in training his nervesness seemed to be caused from bad ownership and a shitty situation prior to rescuing him. He's awsome at room clearing and finding the bad guy and he lives for tracking he can't get enough!
Also have fun! the both of you!
Ask questions here on the board there is numerious people here that can help you!
HW, these are only views and opinions!
Be Safe!

Lewis/Argo and Riley

Lewis said "Take your time don't push anything, but don't let the dog get away with anything also."

What is the proper way to to not let him get away with anything? For instance he wants to lie on the furniture. He knows he isn't suppoed to get on the couch, but he will jump up there. When one of the family goes to get him down, he gets off before they get there. He has never done it when I'm at home, but the wife was telling me he does it a few times a day.

Just want to jump in here and mention that it's not always a submissive behavior, but can also be a result of excitement! Regardless of which it is, the pup cannot control it, it is totally involuntary. The best medicine is to ignore him when you walk in the door. Don't greet him, don't look at him, just go about your business, for about five minutes, until the initial excitement of your return home has subsided. Then, go ahead and greet him, but call him to you and make it low key; just a Hello Boy, and a quick pat, not a whole lotta lovin. Not only will this help with the submissive/excitement urination, but it is also a dominance exercise, that puts you in a clear leadership position without any body language that the pup might interpret as threatening.

The furniture thing: The people who have the most luck with this are those who NEVER let their dog on the furniture, period. And, with a dog this young, eliminating the opportunity to do so is the best way to make sure it does not become habit. For example, if a family member is home with the dog, and they are going to leave the living room, they should take him into the room that they are going into, so they can keep an eye on him, or put him in his crate to prevent him from getting on the couch period. Once a dog figures out that he can get away with it sometimes, it is a hard habit to break.