Weird horking sound and submissive peeing

Question
Hi!  I have a 10 month old female pomeranina.  She is by far the greatest dog we have ever owned.  Every once in awhile, and I have not been able to pin point what could be triggering this, she makes this weird honking horking sound, it has been described to me like a "reverse sneeze" by some maltese owners.  She doesnt appear to be in any distress while it is happening.  What is this and should I be concerned?

Also she still is submissive peeing.  When anyone reaches down to pet her or even talks to her she pees!  She doesnt do it to me, I am her primary caregiver, but when my husband comes home from work, he wont even speak to her to try stopping this and it still happens.  We try to make people coming in to the house kind of let her settle down before they even talk to her or she pees!  Other than that, she has been totally house-trained and accident free for about 6 months.  What else could we do to curtail this! I have replaced our entry area rug 4 times in the last 9 months!  

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Michelle,

The honking sound is causes by trachea irritation. As long as it is only occassionally I wouldn't be concerned.  My pom does it once in a great while.
Check out this site for more info:
http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtrachea.html

Puppies usually outgrown submissive urination. Before others pets her they should squat down first, don't make eye contact, hold hand palm up for dog to sniff,  and don't pet top of head.  Leaning over a dog is very aggressive behavior to a dog. I recommend that you don't let others (except your husband) touch her or talk to her  until her confidence is built up and she stops the submissive urination. It's ok for her to be around people but there should be no contact. Poms are naturally reserved with strangers.  Mine loves to be around people but doesn't particularly care for being touched by them.  I take my pom with me all the time and he is a people magnet because he is so adorable.  Others are always wanting to touch him but I tell them he loves people but doesn't want to be touched.  Occassionally someone gets offended but I must do what's best for my dog.

Your husband needs to work on building the dog's confidence when around him.
Check out these sites for more info on how to do that:
http://www.dogdaysusa.com/behaviorcenter_urination.asp
http://www.perfectpaws.com/subr.html

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Best Regards,
Carrie