Cowering and peeing

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

I posted this in the Anxiety group without response so thought I'd try a larger audience.  Anyone else have this problem?

My 16 month old ALD cowers and pees when people come over and sometimes when I approach her to put her up on the table for grooming or when people are standing around talking near her.  I have 2 doodles and they both did the excitement pee thing when they were little, I ignored it , cleaned it up and it seemed to go away.  Is there some way to increase her confidence so she isn't so anxious around people?  FYI, she is an unspayed female and the breeder says no to dog parks so we go to farmers markets or festivals or city parks so she can meet people and kids, seems to do fine then.  Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I have a nice little article on this topic.  It sounds like, this is a submissive and complimentary pee. Dogs do this to show respect. Honest.

I'll try to find my info.  I did try to find it when you posted in the Anxiety Group, then I was called away and never got back to you.  As soon as I find it, I'll post here.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Copied from another post but it says the same thing.

Submissive Urination.

"Submissive wetting or urination is a normal way for dogs and puppies to demonstrate submissive behavior. Even a dog that is otherwise housetrained may leave dribbles and puddles of urine at your feet and on the floor when greeting you.

Submissive urination is the ultimate show of respect and deference for higher rank. It occurs frequently with young puppies who have not yet learned and perfected other social skills and means of showing respect. Submissive urination in adult dogs is usually a sign of insecurity. Often unsocialized and abused dogs will submissively urinate. Other dogs that engage in submissive urination may simply have not been shown that there are more acceptable ways to show respect, such as paw raising (shake hands) or hand licking (give a kiss).

Submissive urination may be present in overly sensitive or mistreated dogs because they feel the need to constantly apologize. This state is often caused by excessive or delayed punishment which frightens and confuses the dog without teaching him how to make amends. The dog resorts to the only way he knows to show respect and fear, by submissive urination.

When your dog submissively urinates, it is best to just ignore him. If you try to reassure him, he will think you are praising him for urinating and will urinate even more. If you scold him, he will feel an even greater need to apologize by urinating. Either reassurance or scolding will only make submissive urination worse.

Treatment of submissive urination must be directed towards building your dog's confidence and showing him other ways to demonstrate respect. The quickest way to accomplish this is by teaching your dog a few basic obedience exercises. A dog that can earn praise by obeying a simple routine of "Come here, sit, shake hands," will soon develop self esteem and confidence. A confident dog who can say, "Hello, Boss" by sitting and shaking hands does not feel the need to urinate at his owner's feet. "

There are many more helpful articles just type "submissive urination" in your search engine

[Jeanne, Tura and Dolly]

Thanks so much Joanne.  I guess I thought it was something else as she is not a little puppy anymore.  We got Dolly as a 4mo old and she seemed a little jumpy but I don't think was abused.  Insecurity I think is the issue and we will continue to try to find ways to build confidence.  She does well in obedience classes.  Maybe we will have to continue that.  We also need to tone down our greetings....we tend to put the baby voice on (esp the DH!?)

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Ha Ha.  Tone down the greeting.  Good luck.  We have yet to perfect this one. I have a lot of company this week and my house is the ultimate TV show in how not to greet the guests, good dog behavior, and a nightmare story on having company with dogs!  UGH.  We flunked.  Worked so hard on this, we just flunked.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Ditto Joanne! Guilty!

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Tara was somewhat insecure as a puppy, too. We found it helped her if people (including the family) did not reach over her head to pet or touch her. She was much more comfortable and calm if people came at her from underneath and scratched her chin or neck instead of her head.  She still prefers it now that she is older but is much better now about a top of the head touch too.

I understand your situation extends beyond people approaching her but I thought this might be helpful in the situations where they attempt to pet her. We worked with increasing Tara's self confidence as the article that Joanne quoted suggested and it really did make a difference for Tara.

 

 

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

This information you received is very interesting, .I would have never guessed that ignoring it is the way to go. Good luck to you!