how do i stop my dog from wetting when shes excited or scared?

Question

my jack russell is 17 weeks old and everytime shes scared or over excited she wets. even if shes not in trouble but think she might be she wets, when she gets excited she wets, i'm at my wits end we've had her since she was 12 weeks and i was told she'd grow out of it, if thats the case how long is it likely to go on for, otherwise what can i do to stop her its got to the stage of maybe getting rid of her and that is somehing i do not want to do please help

Answer 1

No amount of training will help. Scolding her only makes it worse if you're spanking her, yelling at her etc when it happens. It's a reflex that she can't help just like giggling when nervous, blushing etc.

Eventually she WILL grow out of it (my golden retriever was a piddler till she was almost 2 years old). It's a matter of trying to keep her in a calm state (whis is near impossible for a jack). Remove her from a possible excited situation. When company comes over put her outside for a bit or into another room. When she's brought into the room to meet the visitor tell the visitor not to make a big deal about it. In fact don't pay her any attention at all initially. When your jack is in sit or down THEN pet and praise her. Don't pet her to crazy, just long slow strokes down her back. That will help to relax her also. Use soothing tones instead of high pitched baby talks.

A lot of patience and perseverance and you will succeed.

Good Luck

Answer 2

This is the way a puppy "submits" to something that has frightened it. One thing you can do is try to minimize the situations she is in that produce this response until she is old enough to control it ( and that may be 6 months or so old). Also when you are greeting her speak to her from a distance so she can start being excited before you get over to her. Don't reach down over her and encourage her to be wildly excited because she will wet. Speak to her and then ignore her, give her a treat later. She will grow out of this but you need to be patient.

Answer 3

She will grow out of it, at the moment, she simply hasn't the bladder control to stop it. Do not shout at her or even tell her off when she does it, that will only make her worse. She needs to develop more self confidence as the wetting is also a submissive "don't hurt me, I'm only a puppy" reaction. Taking her to training classes would help improve her confidence.
You're lucky she's only a Jack Russell, I had a 100lb Akita who did it until he was about 9 months old!

Answer 4

Try hard to not stare at or make eye contact with your dog. This can be too confrontational for many dogs, so if you really, truly want the behavior to stop, then don't look her in the eyes. Be sure that everyone in your family agrees to do this, so that your dog won't be overwhelmed, and will gain some confidence. It will also help if you all ignore your dog when you first come home. If she has to go out, don't interact with her at all. This may seem very strange, but try it and give your dog a chance to relax around you.
No more "hyper" play - at all - until you're sure that she has stopped doing this. Remember that it's not her fault, and that she can't help what she's doing! But, her humans can help by not scaring or overwhelming her. Good luck!

Answer 5

This is still a very young dog and will likely outgrow this inconvenient habit. You could try doggie diapers until she has more control. Taking her out more often might help also. If her bladder is vacated on a regular basis, she is less likely to wee when she is excited. I am sure you know that Jack's have loads of energy and need plenty of exercise. Don't give up on her yet. You wouldn't give up a child because you couldn't potty train it - would you?
Good Luck, have patience.

Answer 6

When you first get up in the morning and when you first get home. Ignore her for a minute or two. Then pick her up (without talking at all) take her outside. When she goes to the bathroom, praise her for being good.
She is young and will grow out of it. There isnt too much you can do about it unfortunatly. Try (like someone else mentioned) calling a dog trainer and see if they have any advice. Might help some.
Good luck. It will happen. My dog did same thing.

Answer 7

I have encountered dogs like this. Something to remember is that the same muscles used in holding their bladder are used to sit properly with no slouching. That means butt touching ground, sitting evenly on both hips and both feet under them.

Every time I approach a dog with these bladder problems I ask them to sit properly. Once trained, I refuse to acknowledge the dog until they are sitting. It takes a some time but it helps them to hold their bladder. Anytime that she would normally pee you should have her sit. Make sure you let her outside to pee before any times you know she has trouble, if that is possible.

She will probably grow out of this as her muscles develop. Exercise will help. Right now though she is too young to have much control over her bladder. You should reassess in a few months.

Good luck

Answer 8

I was a dog trainer for a long time and I found that time and patience cures all!!

By that I mean...learn her thresholds! If she get super excited, don't make a big deal out of coming home or playing...keep yourself more calm...find out how excited you can get her BEFORE she wets and dont go past that point...same thing with getting scared...If people approaching her makes her pee, find out how close people can get before she pees...then ask people not to approache her and let her go up to them when she is ready...It sounds wierd, but it is just like us! We know how much we can take of something before we get excited or scared...she just cant tell you so you have to be patient with her and figure it out...

If you cant take it anymore, try an in-home dog trainer...that way she is in her own element and they can teach you tricks to use in your own space and teh dog isnt distracted like they would be if they were in a class with other dogs...


Good luck! Be patient!!

Answer 9

http://www.usask.ca/wcvm/herdmed/applied-ethology/behaviourproblems/suburine.html

Try this link, it explains a lot on why this behavior happens, 17 weeks is still very young for this to have stopped yet, I have a 10 month old German Shepherd who still does it occasionally, the secret is to completely ignore it, if you tell her off, it will just get worse. I found the above link very interesting, I have kept and worked with dogs for 33 years and had never really come across this type of behavior before, until now.

Answer 10

DO not give her any attention when she gets excited or scared. Giving her attention will only reward the behaviour that you are trying to stop. Once she settles down, then reward by giving her a treat and petting.