Submissive Urination

Submissive Urination: Why does my dog piddle when I reach for it?
By: Katie Greer

In order to successfully work through the solution to submissive urination one must first well understand the meaning of urine in a canine pack. Urine is a very important commodity used for marking territory and identifying oneself to others, particularly by the leaders or alpha dogs of the pack. We’ve all seen the macho dog that lifts his leg and leaves a sampling of its urine on every item it walks by. The dog is “marking” the item with its scent so that all others who pass by shall know who was there and that this dog owns the area. The flip side of this behavior is submissive urination.

Submissive urination is the very subordinate dog and most puppies way of saying; “You are great! You’re in charge, I bow to you!”. The subordinate dog or puppy will avert its gaze, because to look into the leader’s eyes signals a challenge and subsequent fight for the territory or the right to lead the pack. The subordinate dog may also release a drop or a puddle of urine right then and there and most certainly won’t have any left to go marking the leader’s territory with. If the subordinate dog is feeling particularly threatened they will go so far as to roll over on its back exposing its belly to the leader.

The owner of such a dog will avoid all things that suggest aggression to the dog. It will take a great deal of patience and focus on the way dogs view the world in order to eliminate this behavior. The older the dog, or longer it has had submissive behaviors reinforced by the humans around it, the longer it will take to convince the dog it does not need to act this way.

Ignoring all instances of submissive urination is the first step. Anger or any sign of aggression signals to the submissive dog that it didn’t submit well and therefore must submit more, usually resulting in more urine.

If this is a regular behavior upon arrival at home do not meet or greet the dog. Avoid all eye contact which serves to signal a challenge in the dog’s viewpoint. Ignore the dog and engage in other household activities until the initial excitement of having returned home passes.

Food sharing is a behavior rarely practiced by the dominate canine, this can work to your advantage in this type of situation. Place very exciting food treats, (meats) near your favorite chair and other places in your home you spend a lot of time, including near your dog’s crate or bed. Periodically when the dog is exhibiting confidence and is calm, offer it a treat. Avoid eye contact in the beginning. Be careful with praise, you don't want an ill-timed praise to actually reward the fearful behavior. It needs to be clear which is preferred.

Avoid grabbing the dog when you are in a hurry, this can severely set your training back for quite some time. Use all the special food treats you’ve placed around your house to lure the dog to you. Alpha’s never chase down their subordinates unless they mean to fight. You absolutely do not want to give your dog this impression.

Speak softly and lure the dog to you when you call it. It’s best to squat down to greet a submissive dog rather than bending over from the waist, avoiding eye contact. When dogs want to drive home the message they are the leader they will stand over the top of the dog. You don’t want to resemble this dog in the eyes of your submissive companion.

In the beginning petting the dog needs to be avoided. When you do pet the dog it is best to scratch or pet the dog’s chest or its side. Avoid going over the top of the dog’s head, neck, or back. Again, this resembles the dominate leader dog the submissive dog so wishes to avoid.

Avoid picking up or petting a dog that has prostrated itself on the ground. Walk to another place in the room and squat down encouraging the dog to put it’s front paws up on your leg. The dog should receive no reward (petting or food) from you if it is not in a position you wish it to be. The fastest relief from submissive urination is to remain patient, ignore behaviors you don’t like and reward well those behaviors you do like.