un controlable urinating

by carsyn
(soddy daisy tennessee)

I have a male boxer who pees every time he gets excited. will this ever quit?



Hi Carsyn
This is called submissive urination, and yes, it can get better as a puppy gets older and more confident, but you will need to help this along.

A pup behaves this way because urinating like this is a canine way of showing that the puppy respects you, and realizes that you are superior to him. He does it as a reflexive action, he can't really help it. It's most often seen in dogs who are very submissive in general and who are not very confident.

It's important that you don't get angry with him, or show him that you're upset by his behavior. If you do, it will only make the situation worse as he will interpret your anger/frustration to mean that he hasn't been submissive enough - so he'll urinate more!

Instead, try to ignore it when he pees in this way. Keep all greetings and interactions low key, and always use a quiet, calm voice. Try crouching down when talking to him, or greeting him, you seem less threatening that way.

Your pup will benefit from plenty of socialization and some basic training sessions. These will help him become more self-confident, and as he gets bolder his submissive urination will diminish.

I'd recommend that you read my Puppy Training and my Socialize Your Puppy pages. They will help you involve your pup in activities that will make him feel more confident.

Best of luck.