deerhound pup

Question
QUESTION: my deerhound who is 10mths old now still doesnt lift his leg to pee,therefore piddling down his front legs,i thought it all came naturally to dogs to pee?
when i have visitors in he gets so excitied he pounces on them and runs around knocking things to the floor,so i now hold him until he gets petted then i have to put him out into the kitchen where he barks and barks to come through.its driving me mad and maybe the neighbours.any ideas

ANSWER: Is he neutered? Sometimes dogs who are neutered before reaching puberty never lift their leg. The only way I that might teach him to lift his leg is to have a good male dog role model he can watch in the yard. That could work. The other part is easier. You need to set up training sessions, with friends who can follow directions coming to the door. Have a dog training party. Allow him to greet them (on leash) as they come in. If he jumps up, you hold firm on the leash - neither going forward with him or jerking back, and the "bait" person turns and walks away - dramatically is good. Then they walk back towards him and try it again. About the third or fourth time the bait walks away, he'll likely try something else - maybe standing with four feet on the floor, or maybe sitting. At that point they can quietly offer him a treat. Have them bring the treat up from under his chin instead of from over his head (which would encourage him to jump to get it) Time your guests to arrive at five minute intervals. And after the first two or three, people coming in will be less of a big deal, and hopefully he'll have learned more polite greeting behavior. If you aren't in a situation where you can focus on the dog and training, put him up before guests arrive. Allowing him to become highly aroused and bop around, then putting him up is leading to greater frustration - so the barking. It's also allowing him to practice really bad manners. Have you looked into basic manners or obedience classes for this guy. He really needs to learn some self control, and that's a good way for him to learn it.
Good luck, Sandy Case MEd, CPDT www.positivelycanine.com

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QUESTION: i almost forgot.brigsy sometimes piddles when meeting folk not so much outside but inside.and no,he hasnt been neutered yet.i heard big dogs dont do so well getting knocked out cold for operations,and since i lost my big labrador to the operating table i have been a bit scared incase the same happens to brigsy

Answer
The piddling is probably submissive or excitement urination. As he learns to be calmer in the presence of people that will probably improve. A biggie is to make comings and goings calm, not to make a big issue out of it AND let him meet people outside. Learning calm greeting behavior will help a lot. 10 months is very young for most Giant breeds. They mature much later than smaller breeds. Submissive urination is usually a puppy issue, and between that and not lifting his leg, I'm guessing he's still pretty immature, and age will help those things, though I'd still be getting him into a good positive class to learn some better self control. Sandy