# submissive urination



## Jaders (Jul 8, 2012)

So last night, my boyfriend and I got home after we made a short trip to the grocery store. We had let Gunner roam free for the first time and everything went great, until my boyfriend found a piece of hair on the couch. Since Gunner is not allowed on the furniture, he got into this 'funk'. His ears back, head and tail down, very submissive as if he knew he was in the wrong. Then he sunk down on the floor and started to urinate, then rolled on his back. 

It was not like my boyfriend yelled at him, but I just don't know what to do. I never had a dog who would do it. Help!


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## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

Tazor rolls over for a belly rub and is a fountain of tinkles.. I'm hoping he outgrows it. He doesn't do it when he's yelled at, just excited to see ya. Idk how to correct it. Maybe work on his confidence?


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## LifeofRiley (Oct 20, 2011)

Ignore it. Do not try to correct the dog. He/she is already showing absolute submission with the urination. The dog is showing his/her insecurity and any kind of correction will only worsen the situation.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Ditto. Stosh used to do that when the vet examined him or when he got very excited meeting strangers...we ignored it and he outgrew it


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Ignore it, don't add to it in anyway if you see he thinks he's a 'bad dog' and is starting to stress.

I'd have probably run to the treat jar with great excitement and started a fast game of 'run thru your tricks and get some treats' to break the tension and stress your pup was feeling. They can be VERY perceptive and spiral into the submission unless you do something. 

For excitement urination, I find ignoring is best to keep them calmer. For the stressed urination I try to remove the pup from the stress. And at the least not be that stressor! If they have done something wrong, I need to just have them know that without going so over the top the 'belly up and peeing' starts. There is NO training when that happens cause all the pup is thinking is 'love me love me love me' with no link to their behavior.


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## GSDMUM (Aug 18, 2011)

I agree to ignore it. Mine urinated several times a day from excitement and submission but is slowly getting better. She is 1 yr old. She mainly urinated from excitement when my husband comes home and reaches down to pet her. He started to ignore her and then tell her "outside" and would then greet her there where it doesn't matter.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

How old is this dog? 
As the other said, ignore it.

but also - 


> We had let Gunner roam free for the first time and everything went great, until my boyfriend found a piece of hair on the couch. Since Gunner is not allowed on the furniture, he got into this 'funk'. His ears back, head and tail down, very submissive as if he knew he was in the wrong. Then he sunk down on the floor and started to urinate, then rolled on his back.


Don't let him fail. Don't let him roam. You've only had him a few weeks now, and he doesn't know "right" from "wrong". Obviously the tone of voice your bf used made the dog feel as if he was in for punishment. 
So just crate the dog until he's been with you a few months and knows the rules.

Also - if you plan to let him free roam while you are not supervising, the DOG is not responsible for things that "go wrong" while you're away. The temptation to sit on the couch is greater than any "fear" of being punished when you get back home.
It's not going to end well (dog can do a number of "misdeeds"), so your choices are, 1) crate while you're gone, or 2) let him roam and be angry at him when you arrive back home.

I know what I'd choose. :shrug:


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## Jaders (Jul 8, 2012)

msvette2u said:


> How old is this dog?
> As the other said, ignore it.
> 
> but also -
> ...


He is around 4-5 years old (as far as we know). Yes, we have been ignoring it, and it has been going well. There are still somethings that make him but his head down, ears back, but peeing less (yay! something I don't have to clean up). We have trying to get him out of that funk if he gets into it by throwing a ball, to distract him. 

My boyfriend and I both don't want him to fail, as he seems to surf the counters and get into the trash (taller one with lid). So to prevent that, we make sure nothing is on the counters and replaced the trash can by getting a smaller one and putting it under the sink. As far as the couch, we have been putting our coffee table on it. We close the bedroom door, and only leave the bathroom door open, as if something happens and he needs to use the restroom, he can go in there and it is less to clean up. 

As for the crate, we have one and he loves it - but he tends to try and escape (pulling/biting/etc) at the wires. He has cut up his nose before, and zip ties seem to work until he gets his teeth on some and snaps them off.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

We use plastic crates but he sounds a bit anxious. It's a good idea to keep him acclimatized and _able_ to be crated. Often anxious dogs can go through worse periods, so keeping him at least able to be safely crated is a good idea to keep himself and your home safe. You might snag a vari-kennel off Craigslist or some such and try that


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## frillint1 (Sep 2, 2010)

My dog has been doing this for a couple weeks. He is around 3 and we just adopted him. When I come home I start talking to him as I'm walking up the stairs. I ignore him when I come in, but I talk or sign or something so he don't go and cower thinking I'm mad by not talking to him. He hasn't unrinated until a few days yay!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

LifeofRiley said:


> Ignore it. Do not try to correct the dog. He/she is already showing absolute submission with the urination. The dog is showing his/her insecurity and any kind of correction will only worsen the situation.


EXACTLY.

BTW, it wasn't your pups fault for getting on the sofa.

It was your boyfriend's/your fault for letting him out of the crate before he was ready to be trusted to stay off the furniture. So continue to crate the pup to set it up to SUCCEED and have you happy to return home.


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## Jaders (Jul 8, 2012)

We are still having success, sometimes one of us will slip up but other than that all is good. He has been given boundaries by not going into our kitchen while we are cooking, making food, etc. 

Yesterday, I came home to seeing brownies on top of the microwave (which is on top of the counter), as my boyfriend forgot to put them back in the microwave after he used it. Gunner was home a lone for 4 hours and did not touch them (THANK GOODNESS)!!!! But will we be leaving them out again, no way jose.


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## prockerb (Sep 3, 2012)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> EXACTLY.
> 
> BTW, it wasn't your pups fault for getting on the sofa.
> 
> It was your boyfriend's/your fault for letting him out of the crate before he was ready to be trusted to stay off the furniture. So continue to crate the pup to set it up to SUCCEED and have you happy to return home.


Yep it is never the pup faults!


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

First off, unless you actually catch the dog in the act of doing something wrong, you really can't correct it. You are too late. They won't understand that the thing they did wrong 20 minutes ago is what they are currently being chastised for. 

My pup is a submissive pee-er.

I was told to make greeting them really calm. Don't make eye contact, don't lean over them and don't get excited. I was told to approach the crate sideways.

My pup the other night tried to do something naughty and I gave her a quick "HEY!" She started to hunker down, and I know what comes next - the peeing - so I just called her over and the redirected her to a chew bone to keep her occupied. It broke the tension and she knew she wasn't in BIG trouble, like she first thought she was. 

With her body language, she was showing me that she knew she'd made a mistake and was upset about it, so I didn't see any need to correct her further. She understood she did a wrong thing, so I just tried to get her to move past it before she got herself all worked up and peed all over the floor.

Also, make sure you don't correct them for submissive peeing. They don't have control over it. My pup the odd time will DELIBERATELY pee somewhere and I DO give her a verbal correction and immediately take her outside to finish. those are two different things, so make sure you can recognize them.


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