peeing

Question
I recently became the owner of an 8 month old male Pomeranian/Chihuahua.  He is very well behaved, sits, plays fetch, not too yappy, loves to cuddle, house trained.  But there is one problem.  He pee's, when excited, nervous, scared, when you go to pick him up, when he rolls over on his back (which inturn results in him peeing all over himself.  I am finding it extremely frustrating as I am washing my floor 6-10 times a day.  I am fond of this little dude, he is great other wise but I am not sure if this is normal, or if something is wrong, or what it means and how to fix it.  I can take him out and he will go pee and then come in and he rolls over and pees on himself.  Please help me fix this as I really want to make this work.

Answer
Your puppy is demonstrating submissive urination.  This is most likely the result of neanderthal treatment in his former "home".  Do NOT stand over him, pick him up, or behave in any way that precipitates this behavior.  "Recently" might be a few days, a week, a month, I have no idea, but this is a puppy at a developmental stage (brain development) that often produces fearful responses to normal situations and he already has a fearful response to begin with.  When you take him out and he pees, praise him; bring him in, ask for a "sit", reward it with tiny food treat, and WALK AWAY.  If you are unsure how to teach him to "sit" on command, see this online training regimen offered by Dr. Ian Dunbar:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv38ornzzuQ

You will find a great deal of information (follow instructions given ONLY by Dr. Dunbar) on how to "teach" your dog behaviors you can reward.  Use "sit" as the first lesson.  Once the puppy does "sit" on cue (command), use it when re-entering the house (as explained above) to eliminate his rollover and urination upon re-entry.  He will very quickly understand that re-entering results in REWARD and will stop being horribly fearful.  Slowly, over time and training, he will gain more confidence and trust in you and his submissive urination will diminish and then extinguish.  To desensitize him to being picked up (which is a VERY dominant thing to do to a dog and which he may associate with past horrible experiences), wait until he's acquired some trained behaviors and learned to trust you, then introduce the process of being picked up in very slow steps, over a few weeks, while using food reward for his CALM participation.  If he DOES soil the floor or himself, WALK AWAY: that's what that behavior is intended for: "I give up", and the aggressor LEAVES.  A few months of cleanup after a terrified, anxious dog is no big deal considering the reality that your WORK with him will provide him a long, happy life and you a loving companion.