Hi everyone, I have a question for the sake of my friend.

He aquired a rescue dog about a year ago and is trying to get serious about training him. It's a chocolate lab and is almost two years old.

The problem is that the dog is very skittish and scared. He will get very overly excited about seeing him and even pee some! I sort of feel overwhelmed trying to give any advice because my puppy and I started on a clean slate. Any thoughts?

Training and agility were what I used to give one of my rescue huskies some new found confidence. She would pee submissively if anyone touched her and she wasn't terrified of everything but didn't want to try new things either.

So I started marker training and teaching her to tug. Once she learned some basic commands I enrolled her in some Agility classes and immediately saw her blossom as a dog. She was good at agility, agility was fun, and she was able to let out her energy in a constructive way.

Now we belong to an all sport dog club so she gets to do agility a lot. We also do "urban agility" at the local parks and even just walking downtown. She has done 4-5, 6 hour agility workshops (some with equipment she had never used before) and she did great. She wasn't afraid to try anything! I can still remember her only having to be introduced to the a-frame once and she got it. She was up and over the second time like a pro!

Her submissive peeing is now completely gone, probably a combination of growing out of it, agility, OB training and socialization.

Last summer, at 24 months, she also got her Canine Good Neighbor Certificate and passed with Flying colours!

Does your friend have any clubs near him that could help him get started?

If so, it's best he go to a club practice first without his dog and see if it is the right place for him.

Has the dog always been like this?
From the first day your friend brought him home?
For the entire year?

What has your friend done to help this dog so far?

That "all sport club" sounds awesome, Niomi!

Here is one of a gazillion articles on submissive peeing. Google "submissive urination" and you'll find more than you want.

http://www.clickandtreat.com/webart105.htm

Your buddy needs to change the way he interacts with the dog in situations in which the dog becomes submissive. I'd be very surprised if basic obedience training wouldn't take care of the rest. Ed Frawley mentioned in his Basic Obedience dvd that weak-nerved dogs show the greatest temperament improvement after basic OB.

Have fun!

(Spencer, marker training is marker training regardless of the dog. The methods you are using with your dog will work for your buddies dog - may just take more patience and more reps. Once he learns what's in it for him, he'll start to pick it up quickly.)