Have you recently bought a rescued dog or a housebroken puppy at home? From time to time, have you seen them pee on the floor for no reason? If yes, your dog might actually be experiencing a submissive or excitement peeing.
As a dog owner, it is your duty to take care of your dog and carefully observe any strange behavior that is related to your pet’s health. When a dog shows inappropriate urination, regardless of where it takes place, it could be a sign of a serious health problem. Learning about excitement urination can help you handle any occurring health problems that might be happening with your dog.
Occasional urinary incontinence for older dogs is not uncommon, but you should still have your dog evaluated by your vet in case of health issues. For rescued dogs, it takes some serious investigation to find out the root problem of their incontinence.
There’s a chance that a dog is suffering from an excitement issue if it doesn’t pee when you are in a dominant position (example: looking your dog directly in the eye, greet your dog on the face, bending from the waist). If your dog shows appeasement or urinates when you arrive home and you’re in a dominant position, your dog might have a submissive issue.
Why do dogs urinate when submissive?
Submissive dogs often pee when they are greeted, when someone approaches, and when they have a history of rough treatment or being punished after inappropriate urinating. This is common in rescued dogs, housebroken, anxious, shy, and timid dogs.
How to stop submissive urination?
To help your dog stop submissive urination, you must not punish or scold them after they pee. Instead, allow your dog to gain and build confidence by teaching some simple commands such as sit, stay, or come, and don’t forget to give treats after each success. It can also raise your dog’s confidence with the same reward-and-praise process while teaching simple tricks such as fetch or rollover. You can also make use of the following non-dominant postures to interact with your dog.
- You must approach your dog from the side to avoid eye contact and crouch down to your dog’s level.
- Make sure you appear less threatening when you approach your dog. You must kneel down, turn your body away from your puppy, and avert your gaze. It would be helpful if you let your dog approach you.
- When petting your dog, ensure to go under the chin, not on the top of the head.
- Keep your greetings low key and take your dog outside to relieve itself when you get home.
- Keep play sessions with your dog low key.
- Play games with your dog that focus on toys rather than bodily contact.
- If your dog starts to submissively urinate or if you think he might, do not look, touch, speak, or bend over him.
- Do not yell, scowl, or frown at your dog in response to submissive urination.
- If your dog pees in the house, do not punish your pet. Clean it up and go away. Give rewards or treats when your dog urinates in the appropriate spot.
- Don’t hesitate to ask for help from the vet or a Certified Professional Dog Trainer.
Why do dogs urinate when excited?
Puppies under 1-year-old of age usually urinate when they get excited, and they typically grow out of it. However, excitement peeing usually happens while playing, when unfamiliar people visit, or when you come home. This habit doesn’t disappear overnight. You need patience and understanding toward training your dog out of this behavior.
How to stop excitement urination?
To help your puppy stop excitement urination, keep your calm, quiet demeanor, and be consistent with your inputs.
- Reduce the excitement level by relaxing when you enter the home after work. Make sure to keep your interaction with your pet calm and relaxed. This will give a chance for your dog to calm down on its own. Ask your visitors to do the same when they visit your house.
- Bring your pet outside immediately after you get home with little or no commotion.
- Teach your dog with calm behaviors when they start becoming excited. (Example: Sit, Stay, Down)
- Try to keep all fun games or playtime outside. You can also prepare an area of newspapers and puppy pads. It will benefit you when your dog urinates due to overexcitement.
- Keep it cool and positive. If an accident happens, never reprimand your dog for inappropriate peeing. Instead, clean it up quietly and leave your dog alone. Ensure to clean the area carefully and leave no stains. Use some enzymatic clear that can remove the urine scent, so your dog doesn’t think that it is appropriate to pee in that spot again.
- Give your dog praise or his favorite treats when he urinates in the appropriate area. When your pet urinates while out on walks, praise him and give him treats. It should help your dog to stop the habit of peeing when they get excited. It will also make your dog calmer and more confident.
Note: Feed your dog or give treats when they are calm. Approach your dog when they are calm. If they start to get overexcited, ignore them until they start to calm down. Make sure to avoid excited greetings. Physically and verbally reprimanding your pet won’t help you stop excitement peeing.
Health issues that can cause urination
One important thing to do before deciding to take behavior modification for your dog is to take them first to the veterinarian to find out any health problems. Your veterinarian will run a urinalysis to determine if your dog has a urinary tract infection, which can be treated by antibiotics. The vet can also run other diagnostics like x-rays, showing whether your dog is suffering from bladder stones or inflammation within the bladder (cystitis). In addition, your vet will run a full examination to check if your dog has diabetes or other diseases that cause them to urinate or pee inappropriately.
There are medical treatments that can help your dog treat his urination issues. If the diagnosis shows a result of kidney stones, expect that your dog needs surgery.
Your male dog may continue to urinate in an inappropriate place, like inside your house, after it has been neutered. as a way of marking their territory. If you noticed that his peeing has continued for more than a week after neutering, don’t hesitate to ask for help with your veterinarian.
Professional behavior modification therapy
If you tried everything, but its behavior (submissive or excitement peeing) continues, you need to bring your dog to a licensed behavior specialist. In very severe or persistent cases, it is essential to ask for help or let your dog undergo behavior modification therapy to stop this kind of undesired behavior. The best approach with behavioral issues like submissive or excitement peeing starts with visiting your local veterinarian and listening to their advice. Getting their professional point of view can help you with the problem. They are experts in this field, and they are called specialists because they can see patterns in your dog’s behaviors that you’re missing.
