excitable urination

Question
We have a female boxer who is about 18 months old.When strangers come around she gets excited and sprinkles eveywhere,we have tried the technique of ignoring her for a short time,however that has been ineffective.I realize this is somewhat common,but will this go away or should we try to have our vet give meds for her bladder control?

Answer
Hi Terry,

It sounds as though your dog has what's known as "submissive urination".
Submissive urination is the ultimate show of respect and deference for higher rank. It occurs frequently with young puppies who have not yet learned and perfected other social skills and means of showing respect. Submissive urination in adult dogs is usually a sign of insecurity. Often unsocialized and abused dogs will submissively urinate. Other 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).

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 him how to make amends. The dog resorts to the only way he knows to show respect and fear, by submissive urination.

First, it's always helpful to have your vet examine your dog to rule out medical reasons for the behavior. Urinary tract infections are common in female dogs, and could make it hard for your dog to "hold it" especially when she's excited.

Once a medical reason is ruled out, you can read about how to correct your dog out of this behavior here:

http://www.sspca.org/Dogs/Urination.html

http://www.phsspca.org/training/qa_submissive_urination.htm

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_she...

Best of luck,
Patti