scared dog pees in the house

Question
My husband and I just adopted a year old female terrier/shepherd mix.  She is overall a very sweet and calm dog.  For some reason though, she gets really scared at simple things and pees in the house.  Just today we told her to get off the couch and her ears went down, she started shaking, and she peed on the couch.  We didn't yell either.  We just said, "Foxy, get down girl".  When she pees, my husband yells at her and this just makes her pee more.  We also take her outside to finish and bathe her.  Apparently what we are doing is not working.  What can we do?  We love her so much and don't want to scare or harm her.  Please help!

Answer
Hi Angela,

It sounds like you are experiencing submissive peeing.  The best solution for this is to completely ignore it.   NEVER yell at her.  Her being scared is what is causing this so yelling isn't going to help.  Also, when you yell at them, they are getting attention so that could become a habit.   

The submissive peeing usually goes away on it's own in a relatively short period of time.  Foxy just needs to get to know you and once she feels safe, she'll stop.

If it doesn't go away in a few weeks, let me know.  There are many good articles with tips on "submissive urination".

It is a very common problem.

Cathy