10 1/2 week old Male Red Merle sometimes pees when he gets excited

Question
Hello,
I don't know if this is normal but our male Red Merle started to pee sometimes when we get home or when people come over.  He is very excited and doesn't seem to be submissive with us as in laying down and on his back.  He started doing it at about 8 weeks old.  We got him when he was  7 weeks old.  Is there something we can do to control this?  We try not to get to high pitched voice wise and if we know someone is coming over we bring him out to relieve himself in hopes of him not having an accident.  He was raised in a very social environment from where we got him and he shows no hesitance in meeting people.  Do you think he will grow out of this?
Thank you in advance for your reply and I love reading all of the questions and your answers, very helpful!  I just didn't see any on this subject.  He is our first Aussie, his name is Tucker and I am so pleased with his intelligence and willingness to please.  I just want to do all the right things while he is young and impressionable.


Answer
Hi Lori,
This is known as submissive urination, or exciteable urination.  It's a natural response designed to inform others that the dog is not a threat, basically an appeasement gesture.  The best thing you can do to help the dog get over this is to make all greetings as low key and quiet as possible.  Don't lean over the dog, or reach your hand out.  Let him come and investigate or take a sniff.  Taking him out before guests arrive is a good idea, but it doesn't completely stop the problem, as all dogs, male or female, are capable of retaining urine (which of course, they use for purposes of marking or appeasement).  So, it may minimize the size of an accident, but not alleviate it altogether.  The good news is that many dogs do outgrow this, especially if the humans don't make a big deal out of it, or reinforce it by greeting the dog in an exuberant way.  
Just as an aside, even though Tucker is great with people now, do be sure to continue socializing him to new people and new dogs until he is grown.  Don't just quit with puppy class (which you should get him in to asap - Aussies do extremely well with clicker or positive training because they are incredibly smart and biddable).  Some Aussies become reserved with strangers anyway, but it is far less likely if you keep up with the socialization.  He sounds like a great dog (I have a red merle, too, so maybe I'm partial), and I wish you all the luck.