51/2 month male boxer

Question
Excited urination. How much is too much? Just seems every time he gets excited he urinates and it does not matter where he is. He could be laying down on his back and he will urinate. I have also noticed as he is excited wagging his tail and walking towards a person he will leave a trail of urine. It seems more now than when we got him at 3 months. Is it true that this will stop if he is nuetered? Should we be concerned? When will this stop?

Answer
Hi Chuck,

Submissive or excited urination is pretty common in both male and female dogs.  It's typically seen in the more submissive puppy (hence the name submissive urination) and may or may not stop with altering.

It's not a big deal, really, and you shouldn't be disciplining him for it (if you are).  He's not doing it on purpose.  :)  How long it takes to outgrow depends on the individual dog.  I have a mutt that is 3 and still pees a little when he's overly excited but it's gotten MUCH better with age.

A couple things will help.  Talk to him in a calm voice...always.  Don't get him overly excited.  When people come to the house (or you come home) have them ignore him until he's calm.  Most people, when they see a puppy, squeal.  To you and I it doesn't sound like squealing but to your puppy it does.  OH LOOOK AT THE PUPPYYYYYYYY!!!!!  HE'S SO CUUUUUUTE!!  lol  Just try to keep things low key.  A good rule of thumb is no attention (touch, talk, eye contact) for 5 minutes...you'll need to adjust according to your puppy.

Google 'NILF training'.  It's a method of dog training that helps a lot of behaviors.

Also work on building his confidence.  Teach him obedience 'tricks' if you've not already.  If you have, work on some circus tricks or other fun things.  (You can find these online or in books).

BTW - if he's lying down on his back and tinkling, he's being overly submissive, not excited.  ;)