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Peeing problem
by Indah
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
DISCUSSION:
I had the same problem with BeeBee his is a year old now and in much better control. When people come over they get very excited and cannot control their bladder when they are young. Unfortunately, they wet the floor.. In BeeBees case this happened especially when my grandchildren came over. As soon as he sees them he gets exited, he just adores them. Unfortunately, this excitement caused him to wet the floor. Each time they came over, I asked them to ignore him for a little while, if he wet the floor, I would say no and take him out right away. He seems to be doing much better now. I think the improvement is largely due to the fact that he has gotten older and has better control. I don't think this problem is uncommon in a young dog.
1. When the doorbell rings I scoop Phoebe up and answer the door. People can pet her as I hold her and she won't pee.
2.I warn people as they come in that they are welcome to talk to Phobe but don't pet her - at least for about 5-10 minutes
3. I keep a nespaper hidden behind a chair in the living room, and if someone just has to pet her, I put her on that and then she's fine(won't pee) for the rest of the visit (in fact sometimes people will come over and Phoebe heads straight for the newspaper! - pretty handy!
4. After a while your friends and family will know the rules when they visit and you won't have to worry.
Well, these are just my ideas, other people may have even better ones - hang in there!
Bernadette
Hi Indah, My Phoebe is 5 years old and she still pees a little bit if someone visits AND PETS her - but I've got a solution that works for me. Don't scold her - she really can't help it. Some dogs get so excited, it just happens! I do two things:
Vikki
Indah, please don't scold lemon. It sounds like a submissive urination problem and if that is so, then ignoring and immediately taking him outside (or to paper if that's his designated place) is the proper treatment. The guests really must comply for it to work. If necessary, post a reminder note to them on the outside door before they come in. If he does it anyway, don't say anything to him, just get him out *calmly.* He only does it when they arrive, correct?
When they do this they're responding to fear, excitement, or stress. I expect excitement at first, then perhaps you scolded, and now we have fear mixed in, causing stress! Just back up and leave the scolding off. It takes alot longer to correct mistakes(ours) than to prevent them! Think about every little gesture you make in response to his doing this. Good luck!
anne
Indah, it sounds like Lemon is a submissive widdler. Ignoring her is good, but please don't scold her. She can't help it. She gets so excited when people come in, she loses control of her bladder. Rudy was like that as a puppy, so I had to learn not to make too much of him when I came home. I just acted like I had just come from another room. He eventually outgrew it. Possibly Lemon will too. How old is she?
Marie
Assuming there's no medical condition, it could be submissive urination or due to excitement (depending on her behavior and posture at the time she does it). Scolding doesn't work with submissive urination, and usually makes it worse. From the dog's point of view, they are urinating to show how "good" they are and that they submit to your higher status. Scolding will make them try even harder. I've never had a dog with this problem, but there are books that deal with it. Sometimes obedience training sometimes helps. There are methods aimed at giving the dog more confidence and/or an alternative behavior, but they take patience and need to be correctly. I'd recommend a professional trainer; individual, at-home training may work better than group classes(at least to start with), as the trainer can observe the behavior in your house and other factors that may be influencing it.
Aimee
I want to thank you eveyone for their contribution. Lemon still pees... but I don't scold her now. I take her to her newspaper when I have guests. She still pees when I let her in , but I think she's going to get better. I promise I won't scold her anymore. :)
Indah
Indah, Ditto on all of the above. My Buster is 8 mos old with the same problem...he is finally growing out of it.
Libby & Buster