Have you ever come home and your puppy or dog was standing in the yard or at the door just happily waiting to greet you? Such a nice feeling that is … except when he is so excited, he begins to pee on your shoe or on your nice hardwood floor. This is called Excitement Urination.

Excitement Urination

Excitement urination is a fairly common occurrence among dogs, so there is no need to be alarmed if your pet pooch dribbles away happily whenever he is excited. It is caused by lack of bladder control and is more often seen in puppies, especially when they get overly excited. However, it is not uncommon in adult dogs too.

When and How it Happens

Excitement urination usually occurs during greetings and sometimes at play time. You may notice that every time you return home, your dog tends to dribble urine while jumping up to greet you. This is not a problem behavior.

Dogs get so excited to be greeted by humans, that they temporarily lose control of their bladder and urinate. Excitement urination in puppies is a result of nothing more than just infant muscles that are still too young to have any self-control. The bladder muscles have yet to be trained. Most puppies will outgrow this problem as their muscles get stronger and they gain control of their muscles.

In older dogs, this is mostly because no steps were taken to stop it and it has simply become a habit. This has nothing to do with housebreaking. Excitement urination can happen even in dogs that are otherwise perfectly toilet trained.

You should be able to differentiate between excitement urination and submission urination.

Excitement urination is accompanied by a lot of tail-wagging and joyful barking, whereas submission urination will be accompanied by a lowered head and the dog will usually have his tail between his legs.

What not to do when faced with excitement urination

Having this happen everyday can be very annoying and tiring. However, keep in mind that this is normal and your puppy may not even be aware that he is urinating. Excitement urination is just a passing puppy phase and will eventually stop if the right steps are taken at the right time.

What not to do when faced with the problem of excitement urination:

• Do not get angry with your puppy - Your puppy is not aware that he is doing anything wrong. Even when he does, he may be much too young to control it. Shouting at him for something that he cannot do anything about will create other problems and could even lead to submission urination later on.

• Do not just shrug it off as just a passing phase - You need to take active steps to stop it. Though most puppies eventually outgrow this phase, some do not. If your puppy is not aware that there is something wrong, he may see no need to change his behavior. Also, the longer it goes on, the harder it will be to break the habit later. A little pup dribbling urine may be a mere annoyance, but still tolerable. A full-grown dog urinating can be a downright nuisance and your guests are not likely to like you or your dog.

• Do not excite your pup - Excitement urination is induced by excitement. So it is extremely important that you do not unnecessarily excite your pup, at least until he has gained some control over this behavior. Don’t contribute to the situation by greeting him exuberantly when you get home. Don’t use that I am ‘so-glad-to-see-you-too’ voice. Tone down your greeting and stay calm and avoid all eye contact.

This should cover “What not to do”. We will cover “What to do when your puppy pees from excitement” in a future post. If you are having problems and can’t wait until then, feel free to email Jim at the following email address, sales@containapet.com and place “Excitement Urination” in the subject header.

It has come to our attention there is a company that is offering to put a puppy on their electronic dog fence system as early as 8-12 weeks of age.

DO NOT DO THIS!!!

Your puppy can be irreparably harmed by doing this. Studies have shown that all puppies go through a “fear imprint” stage from 6 to 16 weeks of age. Anything that can psychologically effect them during this period can scar them for life.

*This can mean a fearful, shy and timid dog.

*This can mean a dog that goes to the bathroom in the house.

*Or this can mean that your dog can grow up to be aggressive.

People that would do this know nothing about dog behavior. It is cruel. It is barbaric. It is wrong.

If you choose to invest your dog’s life with another fence company … fine. Just do not put your puppy on the fence system at this age. Ask any veterinarian, any dog behaviorist or any real dog trainer.

Do you want to see a dog obey you via your keyboard and the internet? Click here and then type in one of the following commands and watch what happens:

sit, down, roll over, stand, sing, dance, shake, fetch, play dead, etc. Don’t forget the kiss command.
(Note: As with most dogs, he doesn’t hold all of the commands until he is released.:))