timid piddler

Question
I am writing about Abigail our Yorkie/min-pin mix. She is about a year old. She squats when she gets excited or even if you try to pick her up. Sometimes she pees and other times she does not. She is crate trained and never does anything in her crate. We have a doggy diaper for her to wear while in the house. On occasion we let her sleep in our room on her dog bed and when we do, the next morning we find the diaper full of pee. We can't leave a blanket or pillow in her crate or she will pee on it. She won't pee in the crate if there is nothing in it.Do you have any ideas or advice for us? Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

Answer
Hi Jason,

You should have Abigail examined by your veterinarian. Female dogs (even ones that have been spayed) are prone to develop urinary tract infections and even urinary incontinence. These need to be ruled out as a cause for her problem. There is medications for both UTI and urinary incontinence that can help.

After Abigail gets a clean bill of health, some of what you've described sounds like "Submissive Urination". Submissive wetting or urination is a normal way for dogs and puppies to demonstrate submissive behavior. Even a dog that is otherwise housetrained may leave dribbles and puddles of urine at your feet and on the floor when greeting you, or when overly excited.
Submissive urination is the ultimate show of respect and deference for higher rank. Submissive urination in adult dogs is usually a sign of insecurity. Often dogs that engage in submissive urination may simply have not been shown that there are more acceptable ways to show respect, such as paw raising (shake hands) or hand licking (give a kiss).

When your dog submissively urinates, it is best to just ignore her. If you try to reassure her, she will think you are praising her for urinating and will urinate even more. If you scold her, she will feel an even greater need to apologize by urinating. Either reassurance or scolding will only make submissive urination worse.

Treatment of submissive urination must be directed towards building Abigail's confidence and showing her other ways to demonstrate respect. The quickest way to accomplish this is by teaching Abigail a few basic obedience exercises. A dog that can earn praise by obeying a simple routine of "Come here, sit, shake hands," will soon develop self esteem and confidence. A confident dog who can say, "Hello" by sitting and shaking hands does not feel the need to urinate at her owner's feet.

You can read more about submissive urination here:

http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/suburine.htm...

A dog peeing on a bed is often a behavioral problem. It is hard to tell why Abigail pees on your bed/pillows , without knowing her.  There are different theories as to why dogs do this, one is that they are insecure in their pack structure. Since your dog is having this problem, it would be a good idea not to allow her on your bed, at least until you can break her of this habit. Some dogs do not do well with total freedom and no limitations in the house.  A bed is sacred, it is where the owner sleeps, and allowing a dog in bed is putting them on the same level as us, at least in their minds. We become more like friends, or brothers, and it unbalances the relationship. Try having Abigail sleep in her own area, such as a dog bed on the floor next to yours, or in the case of dogs who cannot be trusted free, a crate in the bedroom.


I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti