My cocker spaniel pees everytime he gets excited. What can i do to stop that?

Question

Luigi is 9 months cocker spaniel that pees everytime he gets excited. For example, When i go to say hello to him in the morning i have to take him inmediately outside, otherwise he would pee on the carpet. Also, when my brother comes to the house he gets so happy that he pees all over the place, when he meets new people he pees, when people pet him he pees. Even though other cocker spaniel owners have told me the same happens with their pets, should not luigi be over the peeing issue by now, is not like he is a baby anymore. Any advice?

Answer 1

Your dog has submissive urination. Here are some ways that will help.

Many dog owners mistakenly believe that this type of urination is a housetraining problem, and try to correct it with discipline. To their dismay and frustration, rather than improving, the dog's problem gets worse! Because the message he's sending is misunderstood by the owner, the dog is caught in a vicious cycle - his instincts tell him to urinate to please his superior by showing submission. But when he does, he is punished. He then tries harder to please by urinating even more. This results in more punishment, and still more urination. After a time, the dog may become so confused and insecure that he urinates at the mere sight of a human being or another dog.

If discipline won't solve the problem, what will? Your task is to take the excitement and stress out of the periods that previously triggered submissive urination. Get cooperation from all members of the family. When you first get home, you can anticipate that the dog will get excited and urinate so you need to minimize the excitement. Instead of an enthusiastic greeting to your dog, quietly walk in the door and go about your business. Let him outside to pee as usual, but without any fanfare. If you talk to him at all, just say "Hi Rover" in a calm, casual tone of voice. Don't make eye contact with him or pet him. After he settles down, very gently crouch down to his level presenting to him sideways (this makes you very non-threatening), then calmly and quietly praise him and tell him he's good. Be sure to tell your family and visitors to do the same.

Do everything you can to boost your dog's confidence. As he becomes more confident, he may feel less of a need to display extreme submissive behavior

For more info and tips go to the website below.

Answer 2

I have a 12 year old female cocker spaniel. She use to do the same thing. Is Luigi spayed or neutered? If he isn't you should do it because that might help the problem. Also, what we always did was take our dog outside before anyone touched her because she was the same way. I think Cocker Spaniels might just have a small bladder because now that shes older I have to take her out like at least 1-2 times an hour during the day and make sure she doesn't drink too much before we go to bed otherwise she pees in the house before we get up. So, it's not an age issue that he keeps peeing when he's excited I think it's just a breed issue.

Answer 3

I had a Cocker Spaniel before and she didn't stop doing that until she was at least 4yrs old. Yes 4yrs old. In the Cocker Spaniel breed it is very well known for then to do this, I don't know why, but they are known for it. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do, just wait and clean up the messes.

Answer 4

It's a Cocker Spaniel thing- so happy they pee. Some don't do it, and others don't ever stop.

You could try having him outside before the excitement, and people can greet him through the doorwall before letting him inside. Scolding him for urinating will probably make him go more. You could try treats for times he makes it outside, letting him know that the better behavior is making it outside in time. Good luck.

Answer 5

No he may not be over this by 9 months.

Your dog is afflicted by low self esteem.He is peeing to show you how happy he is to see you, that he will be a good dog and that you should treat him nicely. This is called submissive urination and it is very common for submissive dogs.

You need to deescalate the excitement level of the activities you mention. When you come home, don't immediately bend over and pet him. ignore him for five minutes, then casually reach out to pet him. Avoid eye contact which is a mark of aggression. So is looming over him as you probably do when you pet him. Go to a chair or a stool if you want to pet him so it is not so intimidating. Don't use LOUD BOOMING voices. (Men are particularly scary.) If you have a deep male voice, try talking to your dog in falsetto. Babytalk really works on dogs.

Your dog will eventually get over the submissive urination, but you will have to work on this for quite a while, so get used to it.

Also go to ebay and buy a used copy of The Toolbox for Remodeling Your Problem Dog by Terry Ryan. It is out of print, but it is terrific. It has great advice for these and many other problems as well as good basic training advice.

Answer 6

Sounds like a classic case of submissive urination. He's overjoyed to see 'pack members' but he recognises that you rank above him in the dog pack and he's kind of over doing the submission response.

Immediate fixes: Ignore him for 5 to 10 minutes when you first get home or wake up. Then act very low-key and quiet when greeting him. Don't talk in a high-pitched voice, remain calm. Do not look him in the eyes. Bend down to say hi. Let him come to you, don't reach out to him. Don't lean forwards to him, or lean over him. Don't scold him for peeing-- it will just get worse.

Long term solutions: Do obedience training with him. Be very gentle when training him, but make sure he learns it. this should boost his confidence and also when you greet him you can ask him to sit and he might not pee. Also maybe teach him agilty training. this is a great confidence booster (I'm currently doing a study on agility and confidence). Socialise him. Take him to raining class a few minutes early to visit with everyone, and take him out im public to see people.

Answer 7

Dogs with submissive or excitement urination may be helped by being taught an alternate greeting behavior or to associate greetings with a different set of emotional responses. These are forms of counter conditioning. Owners should be instructed to meet their dogs at the door with a treat or toy. The dogs will learn to anticipate food or play when owners come home and be less likely to urinate. Especially with treats. owners can shape their doss' behavior from an excited or submissive greeting to a calm one. When the dogs begin looking for the treat, owners should wait for them to sit calmly before giving it. Later, a treat should be given while their dogs are sitting calmly, being petted, and not displaying any Submissive gestures. Dogs with submissive urination should not be punished. Some dogs are so sensitive that even upset facial expressions or tense body language from owners is enough to elicit urination. The best way to avoid punishing dogs is to guide them toward appropriate behaviors. For example, instead of yelling "no" when their dogs jump on them, owners should teach them to sit. Dogs should be told the right thing to do, something that will result in praise and a reward. rather than being allowed to decide what to do, potentially resulting in scolding and punishment. Reducing the amount of punishment will help build the confidence of Submissive dons and reduce their tendency to show such exaggerated submissive behaviors as urination. Other good confidence builders for dogs include positive reinforcement/reward basic training for obedience or dog sports (e.g., agility, flyball). These activities also help strengthen the owner?dog bond, which may have been damaged by frustration over urination.

Answer 8

We never had a problem w/ that in our cocker spaniel. However my cousin had a female and she was liket hat herwhole life. Couldn't get it out of her and she was like 12. you could try putting a diaper on him

Answer 9

Should have done your research before picking a dog. Cockers generally grow out of it by two years, though it can also be a health condition. Check with your vet to rule out health issues.

Answer 10

Submissive peeing can be a problem with some dogs.
Try to not make a big deal out of it and just clean it up.
Make sure he is not on carpet when he meets new people and when you come home take him out and hten greet him outside.
Most dogs will grow out of it to some degree but it could take years to happen.
You can not punsih them for it as that can make the problem worse. Just clean it up and move on.
Make him meet and greet outside to save on your cleaning time.
Good luck.