Submissive Urination

Question
I purchased a male standard poodle a little over one month ago.  Currently he is four months old and is being quite a pain to house break.  When I go to let him out of his crate to relieve himself he starts peeing in front of his crate.  This only happens during the day.  He is able to go all night without peeing in his crate and doesn't pee in front of his crate any at all when I let him out first thing in the morning.  I'm about at the end of my rope with this dog and am seriously thinking about getting rid of him.  Any advice you can give about submissive urination and house breaking standard poodles would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hello Aimee,
You might first think about getting your dog a "Belly Band" that goes around his middle to catch any pee that he might do before you get him outside.  You can find them at http://www.dog-breeds.net/dog_diaper_belly_band.htm
You might want to get two in case he gets one wet, you can switch them while you wash the other one.  Sometimes when a dog wears these and gets them wet, it will stop them from going in the band again because they don't want their "wet" against them.  

You might also watch how much water he is drinking and withhold his water about 2 hours before he goes to bed.  This might help him when you let him out in the morning.  You can also put doggie Pee Pads in front of his crate so that he doesn't get the floor wet when you let him out.  
You can try not looking at him when you get him out of the crate if it is really submissive urination, but I am not sure how much this will help.  A submissive dog will submit even more when stared at or looked directly in the face, but this might not be his problem.  

Give this a try and if you have any other questions or concerns for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim