Pet Information > ASK Experts > Dogs > Dog Training > wetting in house

wetting in house

18 18:02:21

Question
Hi,
I have acquired a 2yr. old female (spayed) Lab mix. She wets in the house when I come home.  I do not scold, just simply say "no" and clean it quietly up while she looks totally ashamed.  I have tried letting her out first and encouraging her to urinate first which she will do and then she will still wet on the garage floor.  I have tried to ignore her for a few minutes, she will sit patiently but will still eventually wet when I quietly acknowledge her. She is very sensitive and has no other behavior issues and she is very eager to please me. She will wet 2-3 times sometimes even after having gone in the yard. Please Help!

Answer
The first thing to do is have your vet check to see if she has a urinary tract infection or is spay incontinent.  If she is ok physically, then you are probably dealing with a dog that was not correctly house trained.  If that be the case, then you would want to go back to supervising the dog when she is out of her crate, and crating her when you cannot watch her, remembering to praise her for doing her biz outdoors, and NOT punishing her for her mistakes at all (this can lead to dogs being afraid to eliminate in front of the owner, so they wait until the owner is gone).  Clean any mistakes with an enzymatic cleaner (Petastic, Nature's Miracle, Simple Solution) when the dog is not observing.  
Dogs that wet when greeted may be displaying "submissive urination" or "excitable urination".  The solution is not to greet the dog with much fanfare, and when you finally do greet the dog, don't make direct eye contact or bend at the waist and loom over the dog.  Sensitive dogs are prone to this, but usually, with patience and the right technique, they outgrow doing it as they grow to trust their new human.