Pee Here. Pee There. Pee Everywhere....

[Crazy Doodle Lady]

Dexter is doing well with his potty training.  He is 14 weeks now and is getting the hang of it.  We have an occasional accident here or there but he does know to go to the door when it's time.  He also knows to go to the door at his doggy gym.  However.....

I took Dexter to his gym today for his third visit.  When Dexter meets a new dog or a dog comes up to him he gets scared and pees.  He is the most timid dog I have ever met.  He is scared of every dog no matter the size.  (This is why I started bringing him to the gym to socialize and build confidence.)  Today was our third visit so I thought he would be a little more confident but I was wrong.  There was a Rottweiler there who is a therapy dog.  Very well behaved and sweet.  To Dexter tho she was a horrible huge giant.  He peed every single time she came near him.  The lady who runs the gym does not like the pee on her rubber flooring at all.  She lets me know every single time.  It's not like he's peeing on purpose or because he's not trained.  When he actually has to pee he goes to the door like he is supposed to.  The small dribbles are only when he is scared or intimidated.  So today the lady who runs the gym was sitting on the floor with the dogs and Dexter came over for attention.  He was standing over her when the big dog came up to him.  Of course Dexter peed all over the lady. I died.

I'm not sure what to do about all of this.  I want him to go to the dog gym to socialize and learn to play with other dogs but I don't think he'll be welcome much longer if the peeing continues.  The dog gym is great because the dogs are grouped in play dates with dogs with similar play styles and are constantly supervised.  It's a great place for him to learn.  Taking him to a dog park where anyone can show up is out of the question.  He would get picked on and I don't want to traumatize him or have an injury like Bear did when he was attacked at a dog park.  

Will he outgrow the submissive scared peeing or should I give up hope?  

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

14 weeks is very young and this is very common. He does not have full control over is bladder. He will eventually outgrow this.
14 weeks, again, very young to be brought into very public places where other dogs have been. ParvoVirus is a killer of young pups. People walking, can carry it on their shoes and transmit to your puppy.
We brought Enzo everywhere possible for socialization, but she was always carried. Pups should not be brought out and set down in public places until all Vacs. Are complete. You may want to speak to your Vet about this or google ParvoVirus.

[Crazy Doodle Lady]

He has all of his vaccinations now and all of the dogs at the gym are up to date with proof upon visit.  The vet gave us the go ahead last week and actually recommended this place to us.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Sounds good!

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

What DeVon said. Exactly.

Lachlan was extremely submissive as a baby too. We did back-to-back puppy classes until he could play confidently with other babies.

You're doing the right thing socializing him with other dogs young, but you might look around and see if anyone's offering puppy classes with socialization time. At his age a little submissive peeing is not uncommon, and I have to admit I'm surprised too that this lady isn't more understanding. When you're dealing with dogs, especially pups, pee happens.

The good news is that if you keep working on his socializing and helping him build his self confidence he WILL grow out of this.

[Toni Clayton]

I'm new to this also, and am surprised that someone who makes pups a living is upset about dog pee, especially from a pup who is nervous.  I would think she would have suggestions about how this could be addressed, and not be upset with you or Dexter, who by the way is so flipping cute...

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

What a precious fuzzy face.  Yarrow was petrified of all dogs larger than her for some time.  I'm no expert, but what I might try in the doggy gym is just bringing Dexter in and just sit with him (on leash) as a spectator for a few times so that he can see that the other dogs are having fun and nobody's getting hurt. If there's no 'spectators' area, bring your own exercise pen to put up as a barrier.

Let him feel your calm energy as you watch together instead of him feeling anxiety from humans over his pee pee accidents.  He probably feels that anxiety and attributes it to the situation he's already anxious about. 

[Jennifer Obert]

He is so cute and looks a lot liked Ellie! My Sadie has always done sumissive peeing and she is 12. We have learned that everybody is to greet outside and she ok after that. Don't know if that is a possible or not for you.

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

Hurley always peed around people or other dogs when nervous or excited.   It took him about a year to get passed it.  We did make sure he had opportunities to socialize but didn't start his being around other dogs until 3 months.   I would go to a Starbucks and sit outside with him on my lap so he would be around noise and strangers.   

[Deb's Yarrow and Schatzi]

Until recently, Yarrow was still skittish around people and other dogs.  Like you, Diane, I started taking Yarrow to sit at an outdoor café where she could get used to all sorts of people, other dogs, people going by on bicycles and kids on skateboards.  It was really good for her. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

This is not a solution to the submissive pee problem, just a suggestion that might help when you go to the gym.  You can get belly bands for dogs and put half of a sanitary pad in to catch the pee.  Here is a link to what they are:

http://www.bellybands.net/order-online?page=shop.product_details&am...

[Michele Kiss]

To be honest, I would look for another place to take him. Who on earth runs a center for puppies to play and expects zero pee? 

Both our puppy school and the puppy "socials" we take Fenway to simply have people call out "accident!" if a pup has peed or pooped. (Just to notify staff, not to frighten the pups.) Everyone picks up their pups, they have mops and buckets and quickly mop it up, and about 20 seconds later play resumes. 

One time, we could tell Fenway was about to pee and pulled out a pee pee pad, and he went on that. So did three other pups! The staff were shocked as apparently it's really rare for pet parents to be prepared like that. They just expect to clean up a few times during class - nature of the biz. 

I wouldn't go back somewhere that shamed your pup OR you for perfectly natural behaviour. 

Also, they should be in groups of size and temperament so he shouldn't be with a big Rottweiler IMHO... 

[Stephanie and Ragley]

We never had any pee issues, but Ragley used to be extremely timid around other dogs when she was not on "her" turf. She would hide between my legs, try to jump up on me, and at our first puppy place time she actually jumped over the pen barrier that was there to keep the puppies contained back onto the people side. I was so embarrassed that she was such a sissy around all these other tiny little puppies that were all having such a great time playing together. She quickly got over it, however, and Dexter will too! The play sessions are held at our training facility so our trainer was there the whole time supervising and she greatly helped every owner work out any issues that may be happening and help to explain the purpose of reacting in certain ways with the dogs. I am SHOCKED that your gym lady gets upset with you for Dexter's accidents! What is his pee going to do- ruin her rubber floors? Poor you and poor Dexter! There is absolutely no need for you to feel embarrassed. He is so young and it is a behavior seen in many puppies. Just keep working with him and he will get there!