How to Stop a Nervous Dog From Peeing in Your House

Dogs are submissive because of immaturity, mistreatment, or simply a shy personality.

For many dogs, submissive urination, or nervous peeing, is an instinctive reaction to a person or another dog. The behavior is subconscious, occurring when the dog feels intimidated or threatened. In the dog's language, this is a way of acknowledging superiority or avoiding confrontation. Submissive urination usually occurs when a dog is overly excited or nervous about any physical contact, positive or negative. Submissive urination is more common in younger dogs that usually outgrow the behavior in the first year. Mistreated dogs also frequently exhibit this behavior. There are several steps to successfully overcome nervous peeing, but the most important one is patience.

Instructions

1. 

   Medical problems are sometimes mistaken for submissive urination.

   Rule out medical causes that could be responsible for urinary accidents first, especially if this is a new behavior. Have your dog checked out by your veterinarian. Changes in diet, incontinence after spay or neuter surgery and urinary tract infections all can cause urinary accidents.

2. Do not punish your dog for submissive urination. This behavior is not a housetraining issue and should not be confused with housebreaking. Punishing a dog for this behavior only increases the behavior. Dogs that submissively urinate do so by squatting and peeing to acknowledge dominance and show respect. By punishing the dog you only reinforce your dominance and its need to submit to you, only worsening the problem.

3. Ignore your dog when you first return home or enter a room. This is hard for many dog lovers to comprehend, but it is important to let the dog calm down before interacting with it. Even petting can trigger a submissive response. When you do initiate contact, do so calmly with a quiet voice and do not directly stare at the dog. You should sit or squat down, and pet the dog under the chin or on the chest rather than on the head. Sometimes dogs pee nervously for only certain individuals, so it is important that all family members and strangers follow these same steps. If your dog still urinates upon your greeting simply ignore that it happened and clean it up without reaction. Refrain from smothering you dog with misplaced sympathy or cuddling when an accident occurs, as this might be misinterpreted as praise, also encouraging the problem.

4. Socialize your puppy or dog. This is especially critical for puppies under 6 months, as a large part of its personality forms by that age. However dogs of any age will benefit from increased familiarity and confidence with its surroundings. Expose your dog regularly to all types of people, animals, places and sounds. By building its awareness and confidence, you can decrease shy, submissive behavior like nervous peeing.

5. 

   Obedience classes help establish good behaviors and socialization.

   Take your dog or puppy to obedience training classes. This is also a confidence builder, helping minimize anxiety. This step strengthens and increases the bond between you both by establishing trust and understanding. For example, simple commands like "Sit" and "Stay" help to redirect the dog's energy and focus on new tasks. Obedience training also provides a built-in opportunity for socializing your dog with new faces and experiences.

Tips & Warnings

• Submissive dog posture includes cowering, tucking of tail, flattening of ears, lowering of body and looking downward.

• Puppies less than 12 weeks of age haven't developed significant bladder and bowel control, requiring patience with housebreaking. Most puppies can not be considered completely house broken before 6 months of age.

• Submissive urination in older dogs can be attributed to a variety of problems including abuse, mistreatment, lack of social skills, confusion or nervousness, a traumatic event, or response to change. Extra time and patience are necessary to successfully reverse this behavior.

• Consider crate or kennel training. This provides your dog with its own den or safe area to retreat to.

• Always check with a trainer or animal behaviorist if behavior continues or worsens.

References

• Upper Valley Humane Society: Submissive Urination
• ASPCA: Submissive Urination in Dogs
• Dog Obedience Training Review: Submissive Urination-Why Our Dogs Do It