My dog Shoebox

Question
I have a Chihuahua full bread, and she just turned 3yrs. My question is that if she is left alone for awhile or sees someone she hasn't seen for awhile if you go to pick her up or pet her she pees all over the place. I just don't know what to do, could you please help me. Thank You

Answer
Hi Joyce,

It sounds like your dog has, what's known as "submissive urination".

Submissive wetting or urination is a normal way for dogs and puppies to demonstrate submissive behavior. Even a dog that is otherwise house trained may leave dribbles and puddles of urine at your feet and on the floor when greeting you.

Submissive urination is the ultimate show of respect and deference for higher rank. Submissive urination in adult dogs is usually a sign of insecurity. Many times an unsocialized or abused dog will submissively urinate. Submissive urination may be present in overly sensitive or mistreated dogs because they feel the need to constantly apologize. This state is often caused by excessive or delayed punishment which frightens and confuses the dog without teaching her how to make amends. The dog resorts to the only way she knows to show respect and fear, by submissive urination.

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 your dog's confidence and showing her other ways to demonstrate respect. The quickest way to accomplish this is by teaching your dog 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 greetings. A few other things you can do to help the problem are to avoid approaching her with postures that she reads as dominant, for example: Avoid direct eye contact. Pet her under the chin rather than on top of the head. Hands coming from above, (especially if she was abused in the past), can be viewed as threatening and scary. Try to approach her from the side, rather than from the front, and/or present the side of your body to her, rather than your full front. You may feel funny sliding around at first, but this is only a temporary method while you are training her to get used to you, not get so excited/scared in your presence that she urinates.

You can read more about getting your dog's submissive urination under control here:

http://www.pets.ca/pettips/tips-14.htm

http://pet-training.suite101.com/article.cfm/excitement_urination_in_dogs

Best of luck,

Patti