So here is yet another issue I can use some help with. Jeter gets so excited when my wife or oldest daughter come in the house that he pees a little . I know its involuntary because he is not assuming the position to do it. it seems to just happen as he moves around when they come in. Interestingly this only happens with my wife and oldest daughter. not with me or any one else. I have a feeling it has something to do with them being female and his affection for them. It does not happen with my younger daughter or any other females. Jeter is neutered (I thought you might ask). Any thoughts???

Here are 2 good threads on that:

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=214244

http://leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Board=134&Number=213639

Hope those links work right!

Thanks Lori,
Both those threads are primarily about submissive urination. There was some info about excited urination. What I got from that is to leave him in his crate until he calms down. I suppose I can do that. Having said that I would still like to know why a dog would only do this with certain people. He gets very excited when I come home and there are no accidents. I was wondering if someone can tell me what the cause is so that maybe I can fix it at the core rather than putting a band aid on it in the form of crating him.

Alec,
how do they greet jeter?
Have you tried what was suggested in the other thread of your wife & daughter paying him absolutely no attention when they come in the door.
And I mean IGNORE him. No eye contact, no touch, no speaking to him...nothing.

Alec,
That's what I was getting at too. It doesn't have to be a crate, but absolutely no attention until he is 100% calm is the key here! The crate just helps some dogs to stay/be calm.

I would have them throw a ball or have a couple of treats to throw on the ground to curb the excitement a little bit.

This sounds very much like submissive urination to me. My dog, Hans, started doing it when he was a puppy and he'd meet new people.

Pretty soon he stopped doing it with men and only did it with women.

Then he stopped doing it with women in general and only did it with my wife and daughter.

Then he stopped doing it with my wife and only did it with my daughter.

At the time we got him as a puppy my daughter was transitioning out of the house. The student/adult independent/adult thing.

Something else that is interesting. When someone parks on the street in front of our house Hans charges the door, hackles up, growling and barking and carrying on. I'm totally convinced no one is ever going to try to break into our house as long as Hans is on the job.

BUT ... he recognizes our vehicles, and my daughter's car. When my wife or I come home he greets us at the door, very politely and relatively calmly, unless we are carrying bags or boxes he wants to inspect. When my daughter comes to visit, he hears her park her car, and he comes running to the door tail wagging, and then starts whining. Like a puppy. This dog who acts like Cujo when the UPS guy pulls up turns into a total wuss when my daughter comes to visit.

He must have been close to two years old before he stopped the submissive urination when she arrived. For awhile, whenever we knew she was coming, we took him out on the front porch to greet her so we didn't have to clean the mess in the house. Finally he has completely outgrown the submissive urination. But, as I said, he still totally wimps out when she comes to visit and acts like a little puppy.

This is all very interesting. How can I tell if this is submissive or excited urination? My instincts say it is excited because there is no submissive body language. I should say that there is no body language that I would normally consider to be submissive. His tail is wagging and he seems thrilled to see them. Jeter is not a submissive dog. In fact I only saw him be submissive once at the dog park with an aggressive Great Dane. He would lower his body, tail between his legs and he would lay on his back. There is none of that with this urination issue. Although when he plays with Dakota although he is clearly the stronger and more aggressive one(UNLESS I AM MISTAKING INSECURITY FOR AGGRESSION)he will lay down and expose his belly in a playful way. I am so confused.

Check out this article:

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

Thank you...I will read during my commute home.