My dog pees when I approach. How to stop submissive urination?

What he's doing is probably submissive urination. He sees you as an authority figure, or someone he's very happy to see and urinates. Submissive urination is normal canine communication. When a dog submissively urinates, he’s trying to convey that he’s not a threat. Dogs who submissively urinate usually do so when greeting people or animals, during exciting events, while playing, during physical contact, such as petting, or when scolded or punished. When in a situation that seems to trigger submissive urination, a dog will tend to display submissive postures, such as cowering, lowering the body, raising the front paws, tucking the tail, flattening the ears back, licking the lips or displaying a submissive grin. Submissive urination is most common in puppies, but some adult dogs submissively urinate as well, especially those who seem to lack confidence. The following suggestions might help you manage, minimize or stop the behavior. If possible, greet him outside. Toss a handful of small treats or a few favorite toys in his direction as he runs up to greet you. Ignore him when you first come home and walk through the door. Wait until he has completely calmed down before interacting with him. When you finally greet your dog, do so calmly. Look off to the side instead of straight at him. Sit on the floor or squat down—and avoid looming over your dog as you bend toward him. Teach your dog to perform a behavior, such as sit, when he greets people. First, practice the sit behavior outside of the greeting context, in a calm place, without other people around. When you pet your dog, touch him under the chin or chest, rather than on top of his head or ears. Keep play sessions with him low-key and play games with him that focus on toys rather than bodily contact.

My heart hurts for this poor dog! It sounds like she is suffering from submissive urination, and this will take time and training to fix. Do not make a big deal when you come home. Come in quietly, greet Abby softly, and let her approach you. If you make a loud noise or rush right over to her, that can lead to the submissive urination. Don't comfort her when she cowers. While you think you are helping her, you are actually teaching her that it's ok to behave this way. Comforting her reinforces the behavior. When people come over, I'd put her in a crate. It needs to be big enough for her to stand up and turn around in. This will give her a safe space of her own. Don't let people approach the crate, give her space. Patience is key in dealing with these dogs, and losing your temper will make the problem worse. Speak to a vet about getting a referral to a professional behavioral expert to help with this problem. Best of luck, I hope this helps.

Your little girl sounds a bit nervous. Some dogs that are a little more submissive in nature can be nervous urinators. Meaning that when someone approaches them or they get excited they may urinate. This often gets better as they get older and gain more confidence, but can take some work. Can you try to change how you approach her with the leash? You could try to get down on her level with the leash behind your back and ask her to come to you instead of you going to her. You can also try distracting her with a treat while you put on the leash. If it seems to be related to approaching her head you can try having her wear a harness that way you dont have to approach her head. These are all some general ideas but you really just have to find out what her trigger is and change your routine to what works best for her. Hopefully with confidence it will improve with time. The flip side would be if she is urinating in the house at other points in time, then this would be more concerning for a physical problem such as a UTI that would prompt evaluation by your family vet. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

This is called submissive urination. It would be a good idea to have her seen and rule out an infection, but likely it is behavioral. Avoid eye contact and do not approach her. Allow her to come to you. If you want to call her over kneel down and call her from your side so you are not facing her. As she becomes more confident in her new home hopefully this will decrease but it may never go away completely. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

It sounds like this could be submissive urination. It is a sign that Eclispe might be a little nervous or excited about you reaching down to pet her. Submissive urination is common in puppies and they often grow out of it as they age. When you’re petting Eclipse you should get down to her level and try to let her come to you - it’s important for you to not act too excited. This website has some more information: http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/submissive_urination.html

This could be submissive urination. It is common in younger dogs. Luckily, they typically outgrow the behavior. Until then, try to greet visitors outside to minimize accidents. Gradually acclimate Django to strangers, one at a time. If possible, walk him in parks and around town to expose him to people and places. A pheromone product, such as the Adaptil collar or DAP plug in diffuser, may decrease any anxiety. https://www.petcoach.co/article/submissive-excitement-urination-how-to-control-it/

She could be urinating because she is excited to see you, or it could be submissive urination in that she is trying to show you she isn't a threat. The Humane Society has a good article that tells you how to train this behavior out of your dog, and I will include a link below to it to help you get her to stop this behavior: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/submissive_urination.html