nervous/submisive peeing

boomee · 03-29-2008, 02:07 PM

first of just wanted to say hi havent been on much in the last month ( its just been busy ) anyways lady as a whole is much improved from the time we got her from the shelter in december for the most part she is a good dog. We did have a trianer and come in and work with her a little and i will be probably calling him back to work on some other issues we are having one that is most prevelent is her peeing when she is nervous/ or i am gussing just acting submisive the times this is most prevelent is when i come home at 4 in the moring after work. the last 2 weeks we have been letting her sleep on the doggie bed with our other dog instead of putting her in the crate ( all located in our bedroom ) when i get upstairs to take them out she will squat and pee ( she never were do this in the crate ( unless it was over 8 hours she was left alone rare) the other time is when she relizes she did some thing bad and when i go to get she will run away for a minute squat and pee . I think i should add i have never hit her in anyway when i dicipline her it wis with a firm NO! and i pretty much will stand over her after making her sit or lay down and suggestions would be helpful
Lady is rughly a year old maybe 11 months we have had her since late december 07

**voodoolizard** · 03-29-2008, 02:18 PM

sorry to hear about the trouble you are having, i dont think i will be of much help, but only to tell you you are not alone, we got our girl missy
as a rescue a couple of months ago, she is nearly 2, she was really scared of everything when we first got her and the first time i met her she did a pee, i think hers was more nervous than submissive, all i can say is that she has become more confident over the last couple of months and now does not do it at all, from her reactions a couple of times i think she used to be hit !
as your girl is only young still it might be taking her a while to adjust, if you have changed her routine ( from in crate to out of crate ) you might of unknowingly unsettled her in some way.
it might be best to go back to what was working before, im not good on crates as we dont use them.
i hope some others with more experience will chime in !!

good luck and well done in rescuing a wonderfull dog !!

**Doberdog** · 03-29-2008, 04:53 PM

I read with the submissive urinating that you are not supposed to tell them no. You are just supposed to ignore it because they don't know that they are doing it and have no control over it. As they get more confidence, it goes away. When you come in at 4am, do not greet them in anyway, just say "come on" (or whatever) and walk toward the door to let them out. If you see her dribble, just ignore it and clean it when they are outside or in the other room. If you scold her, even just verbally, she will act like she has done something wrong because she is reacting to you and she is confused, which will make it worse in the long run. They have no control when they do this. Find confidence building exercises to do with her and that should help. Hope this helps.

boomee · 03-29-2008, 10:48 PM

thanks i will try it starting tonight

**sebsyd** · 03-30-2008, 12:25 AM

Because she is a rescue, you don't know really what went on before you got her. A dog like this takes a lot of patience and loving and consistant training. I would think that standing over her and saying "NO" firmly may scare her even more. In the archives, I believe, there are past threads on submissive behavior. Maybe by reading these, you may get more input. Good luck.

momtoarmani · 03-30-2008, 10:47 PM

Hello, I'm well versed in this, since we had a submissive pee'r in the past. Try this okay?

When you come home don't touch or pat her. Calmly and quietly say hello and then ignore her for a couple minutes. When the excitement of you coming home has died down, approach her and bend, kneel or sit down on the floor so you are at her level instead of standing above her. This is a less dominant position which will help her feel less threatened. Also, try not to make eye contact. Or even better sometimes, is wait for her to approach you. Have a treat in your hand so that she desires to be near you. Scratching her under the chin is a confidence builder, and that should be your goal. Talk very softly to her and give her praise for coming to you. One of the things you could do is see if she'll play tug... and let her win. She'll feel better, and that will build her confidence.

Food or toy rewards are really helpful, because you're "fun" to approach.
If she begins to pee in front of you, you could take the pressure off of her by being soft-toned and ignoring the negative. Try doing something she enjoys. For example, you could say 'Where's your ball? Let's play ball' or 'Come on, let's go outside to play'.

One thing that people don't realize is that when they yell or say NO when they pee, the dog is just going to respond self consciously with a "OH! They don't realize I'm being submissive to them, so I must need to pee more!" The combination of ignoring it, building her confidence and allowing her to build trust in you....... will most likely result in the behavior stopping all together.

Good Luck!

2RescuedDobies · 03-31-2008, 12:23 AM

I agree a good scratch under the chin is a great confidence builder. It's worked with my rescues

alwayshadpets · 03-31-2008, 04:11 AM

Excellent advice from momtoarmini. I too had a pee`r many many years ago. She did it as a puppy. When we came home we (all the kids & hubby at the time) were told not to talk nice (that hi, oh, we missed you etc. voice) I would just calmly take her outside to do her pee and than everyone could use the happy voice. It worked, she eventually never pee`d in front of us. The happy vocies that came after the outside pee also helped her realize what a good thing she did outside.
We also did the same thing when guests came over. They rang the door, we calmly and quickly took her outside to pee, before she could visit.
I might add that she grew up to be one of my most confident females.

edh · 03-31-2008, 08:36 AM

We had a dobe years ago that when I got home from work, or we had friends come over she would pee because she was excited to see us. So when you get home, do not look at the dog, just take her out, or have have someone take her out to greet you, and get her to pee outside.

momtoarmani · 03-31-2008, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alwayshadpets

Excellent advice from momtoarmini.

Thank You so much! In fact, I came back to add a side note. Our "previous submissive pee'r" actually hasn't done that in over a year. Her previous owner stopped by our house on a whim. When Libby came to the door to greet the visitor she quickly realized who it was, then pee'd all over herself in absolute fear. I tactfully told the woman that she hasn't done that since she got over it after having left her house. The woman was clueless, or ignored my blatant statement whichever it was, I'm not sure. I just wanted her to know that Libby is a great dog, she just needed the proper guidance, acceptance, and unconditional love.