housebreaking

Question
My cocker spaniel is 5 months and gets so excited when he sees familiar people or when people come up to pet him and he urinates as he wags his tale to excitement.  Will this end ?  What should I do to stop this ?

Answer
I can't tell from your question exactly what is happening.  I can suggest a few things to try.  First, a good housebreaking program.  Much of what is around is on the weak sid which  perhaps explains why I see so many questions from people that are struggling.  Sometimes you need to run the puppy around a little outside to stimulate the body to eliminate.  For most puppies it works best to learn to read the puppy and take it out when it needs to go out.  You need to be more proactive.  Periodically, and before you anticipate something exciting the puppy, take it out.  I refer to that as draining it.  You see it waking up from a nap, gently pick it up and carry it out.  Usually it will not pee until you set it down outside.  I maintain my welcome to take young puppies to church by picking the puppy up at the end of the service and carrying it out.  

Obedience train it.  I start the day I get the puppy.  At that age, keep the sessions very short, only a couple of repetitions at a time.  If your puppy is too young for a class, work out of a book.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts.  Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog.  Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones.  You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/

Much of housebreaking is not training the puppy, but making it easier for your
puppy, you, and your carpet while its body to catches up to its instincts.  At
around 8 weeks when the puppy goes to its new home, the time f