My 6 month old male gsd is peeing every time I pet him or anyone pets him. At first we just thought it might be excited urination but this going way beyond what I would have expected. We are cleaning pee off the floor at least four or five times a day. Every time we put the leash on him to walk him he pees. Let him out of his kennel he pees. Is this normal. I have never seen it before to this extent.

The first thing is to check off all physical reasons.

When did this start?

Has it been since day one?

Is it dribble or puddle?

It has been going on since day one. The vet told us it was normal and he didn't have a uti and he would grow out of it. We were told not to get excited when we pet him or interact with him. It hasn't helped enough to notice.

Its just dribble he will do it sitting down or standing or walking. But its still enough to cause me to replace carpet and I'm not happy about it. I don't believe he even knows he is doing it. Other then that he is house broke. He goes to the door when he needs tto go and he won't go in his kennel til the minute we open the door.

And the vet cultured a sample? Definitely? You see this on the invoice?


IF SO, the excited urination can definitely be helped.

You not getting excited isn't enough. It has to be dialed WAY back below excited, and includes looming, approaching suddenly, petting unexpectedly, and more.

The good news is that this is fixable, and that it's usually a puppy thing (an/or a new-to-the-house thing).

Also, I agree that he has no idea he is doing it, and great care has to be taken not to convey dismay -- to him, this would be completely mysterious and unfair anger toward him. (I'm sure you understand that, though.)

I'll see if I can find a detailed thread.

Also, there's plenty of experience here in this.

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=25324&page=1#264784

I read that thread and it had a lot of good information. One thing that I didn't see in it is, how do you desensitize a dog that will randomly come up to you and pee while seeking your attention. Would I still want to ignore him?

First, you checked on the urine test?

OK, then, about peeing when he is seeking attention:

First thing, this dog should have a ton of urinating opportunities. (Basic, but might as well say everything. )

Now, about seeking attention: In what way does he do it? Can you detail how he does this (in the events that include dribbling)?

When income home from work my daughter tells me all about her day and my wife tells me about her day, normally we ignore the dog trying to curb the peeing but sometimes, not always, he will just cower and mope over to me with his head down and ears back and pee as soon as he gets to me. If I tell him to stay he he will but at some point no matter how we end the stay he pees. If I turn around and ignore him he comes to the front of me and does it. If I look at him when I come home he races right up to me tail wagging hyper jumpy and still pees.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

First thing, this dog should have a ton of urinating opportunities. (Basic, but might as well say everything.

OK, I'm just going to throw this out there, for whatever it's worth.

Rather than focus on you and your dog's behavior around you and your family members that makes him pee, I think what Connie mentioned actually strikes closer to how you need to fix this. We had similar problems with our dog, Bailey, when she was younger, although not nearly as bad as what you're going through. When I would come into the house, she would come up to greet me and even if I just reached down to pat her side one time, there would be a little puddle.

Our routine had to be changed to get her to modify her behavior. We had to give her as many opportunities as possible to empty her bladder outside before running into situations that could result in submissive peeing. Now, when I come home, as soon as she sees me come in the door, she heads straight to the back door to be let out before even coming up to me. Then, when she comes in, I ignore her for several minutes until she is absolutely calm before I even acknowledge her. Even then, I don't give her much attention other than a casual word or a pat on the cheek.

Bottom line, I firmly believe that pack groundwork and solid house training go hand in hand with controlling submissive peeing. She can't make messes when she's close to empty. That goes for any activity, including prior to and after exercise, play, or giving your dog any sort of attention. Your dog needs as many opportunities as possible to reinforce and reward good house training. And, when you do give your dog attention, don't make it a big deal. Make it casual and move on. Also, it takes time. Eventually, our dog grew out of it but we still try to lessen the chances of it recurring through our behavior with her.

What a good post!