Posted by: Iris
Date: Tue Sep 25, 2007
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Subject: Submissive urination
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Iris
Submissive urination
Tue Sep 25, 2007 20:18
71.164.24.235
Hi Sherina,
When our pups were infants, their mothers licked them to stimulate their going potty -- without that a very young pup cannot go and will die. So this is the first "gift" your dog gave to her mother. She is now giving this "gift" to you. The good news is that most dogs will outgrow it by about age one. The bad news is that not all will outgrow it.
The first thing you want to do is rule out a medical problem, so have your vet do a urinalysis and a blood workup. If your dog checks out clean, then you know it's behavioral. But if there is a medical problem, no training in the world would fix it. Possible things to look for are diabetes, UTI, maybe thyroid, or it can also be a result of a cortisone injection and last for a few weeks after. Your vet will know what else to check.
Once medical causes are ruled out…
I think you already know this but never ever yell at a dog for this, as it makes it worse by increasing the submission that causes the dog to urinate in the first place. That means never acknowledge it in any way; s/he must feel no emotion from you at all. Clean it up while s/he's outside, if possible.
Most dogs doing this will squat to do it. Some dogs will stop it if you teach them a very strong SIT and give the cue for that as you or someone else approaches. One friend of mine stopped it in her dog by placing her foot heel down, toe up, just under where her dog was trying to squat so that as the dog squatted down she got my friend's toe in her belly, which caused her to rise back up -- and not pee.
Use your clicker and treats to put peeing on cue. Then in the absence of a cue the submissive urination may disappear, plus it’s always convenient to have this on cue.
You can also diaper a dog indoors when you anticipate there may be a problem. Most dogs will wet a couple of times and quickly learn that it's no fun if the wet stays in the cloth next to your skin, so will stop wetting in the house.
For boys:
For girls:
I would continue using the diaper for a minimum of six weeks.
Give your dog 3-5 minutes of attention every day before you leave. Then when you get home, for 3-5 minutes give him no attention. You can acknowledge him, smile if you like, but don't talk to him much, don't look him in the eye, and don't touch or pet him. Get busy with doing other things -- hang up your jacket, read the mail, check your voice mail, whatever else needs to be done.
Then if s/he absolutely must urinate at every greeting, see if you and your guests can greet the dog outdoors.
Make greetings very low-key. Approach the dog walking in an arc rather than in a straight line. Ask your visitors to do the same. Nobody should bend/loom over the dog -- it works better to squat low facing sideways to him, give him a quick soft look out of the corner of your eye, say hello, then you can try doing something else with him, like tossing a e a favorite toy to retrieve, for instance. When s/he learns to anticipate that, s/he should start thinking more about the toy and less about showing submission by urinating.
If she does pee when you greet her, simply turn away from her. Turn your back, cross your arms across your chest, stare at the ceiling, and don't say a word. The message is: pee and the party's over. Then resolve to double your efforts not to have her pee.
You're not going to change this in just a few days of you changing your own behavior. It's been going on for a while, therefore it will take some time and patience on your part to change it to the point where it's a habit for him not to do it. So stick with it, and don't give up. Eventually you'll be able to greet him just as you would any other dog, but don't push your luck too soon. I'd try to prevent this for the next six months. Then you can think about making gradual changes, if you wish, one at a time and observing the reactions carefully.
If something like seeing her leash triggers her to pee, you can show her the leash about 20 times a day, then just put it away. Likewise, if greeting friends causes the problem, you can enlist a friend’s help and have the friend greet her over and over outdoors, if you like. The purpose of this is to desensitize your dog to the event. You can click and treat her for not peeing, or for doing some behavior other than peeing.
Here is a wonderful game you can play with your clicker. Get your dog very excited, then calm him down. Do this many times in lots of little 5-minute practice sessions. Give out loads of clicks and treats, and remember to praise. Put the two opposite states on cue. Then when you greet him, give the cue for to be relaxed. Both “excited” and “calm” are wonderful cues for our dogs to know.
Also, you’ll want to make sure your dog gets plenty of exercise every day.
All of these things can help to eliminate submissive urination, so I'd plan to keep them up for the next six months. Undoubtedly you will see change much sooner, but what you want is solid habit with no backsliding.
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