If your dog urinates when he greets you or others or when you yell at him, he is trying to appease you by saying in the way some dogs do, “Please don’t hurt me; I’m submissive.” Submissive urination is most frequently seen in dogs who lack confidence due to inadequate socialization and in dogs who have been subjected to physical or verbal corrections.
Immediately discontinue using any sort of verbal and physical punishments; they will only make matters worse. Your dog is urinating as an appeasement gesture. If you respond with a correction, your dog is likely to get even more nervous and urinate more. In addition, you will further damage your relationship with your dog.
The solution is to set your dog up to be successful when he greets people so that he isn’t so worried. For a couple of days, toss a small handful of tiny treats on the ground when you approach your dog. This way, he’ll be focused on the treats (and not on being concerned about you), and he’ll start to associate your approach with great things (tasty treats). If he urinates on the first greeting, simply ignore him. Leave, come back, and greet him again. It is unlikely that he will urinate on the second or subsequent greetings, so you may further reward him for dry greetings by dropping more tiny treats on the floor.
After a few days, offer the treat from your hand. Then use the treats to teach your dog to sit to greet by waiting for him to do so, marking the behavior with a click or “yes,” and offering the treat. You can also lure your dog to sit by holding a treat over his head as you approach. Refrain from saying “sit,” because he doesn’t yet know what is expected, and saying “sit” will not necessarily get him to do so. Commanding him to sit may also cause him worry, which could cause him to urinate. Repeat these silent greetings many times over the course of a few days.
After a few more days have passed, you can approach and calmly ask your dog to sit as you expect him to (since he has practiced this behavior for days) or use the food to lure him to do so. At this point, it is likely that he has come to view your approach, your hand movements, and now your request to sit as signals that he is about to get something great from you. In this state of mind, he is unlikely to urinate.
Don’t yell at or hit your dog if he makes a mistake in the house; it will only make matters worse. Instead, reprimand yourself!
Work on socializing a submissive dog to lots of people so that he gets a boost in self-confidence. You might consider taking him to a dog-training class or dog park, where he is sure to meet lots of dog-friendly people, or invite some friends over. (See Chapter 4 for more on socialization.)
House training Mistakes to Be Spiteful?
If you think your dog has made a house training mistake to be spiteful (maybe you think he is upset with you for leaving him all day?), think again. As wonderfully gifted as dogs can be (consider guide dogs for the blind and bomb-detection dogs), a dog is not capable of thinking of holding and then specifically placing his urine or feces as a way of punishing you. It is more likely that a house training mistake was made because the dog:
- Was not truly house trained to begin with
- Was not feeling well
- Has been punished for elimination and so waited to go until you (the big, bad punisher) were not there to punish him
- Was stressed (maybe due to you leaving), which caused him to have to relieve himself