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Dear Kevin,
Tippi is 8 months old, but when she gets excited when people arrive she pees everywhere!
Help!
Jacolyn
Jacolyn,
While this isn’t an uncommon problem, it can certainly be frustrating. Some dogs do this when they get nervous, while others, like Tippi, do it when they get overly excited. While there isn’t a way to get this to stop immediately, I do have some suggestions on how to get it to stop.
Firstly, I recommend getting her out often to meet lots of people. This could be happening because she doesn’t get enough interaction with people, and when she finally does it is just so darn exciting, resulting in some pee coming out. I’d recommend going to a place like a city center that has a lot of people. Also, do this outside so it isn’t the end of the world if she does pee. By doing this it should help curb the problem.
Secondly, it will help to give her some direction. I recommend working on a cue that teaches her to walk up and sit in front of the person. (Check out the video below. It’s labeled for jumping but it’s the same idea.) By giving her some direction it could cause her to focus on the task at hand instead of accidentally losing her bladder function.
Finally, ignoring could be a good option. In the meantime while you’re working on all this stuff it could be beneficial to have anyone that enter your home just ignore her. The lack of attention could result in no peeing. (Ignoring means not even looking at Tippi.) Additionally you could give her something to do when they arrive like a Hedgehog made by Jolly Pets that you could stick something yummy in like peanut butter. This could serve as a distraction along with stopping her from rehearsing the unwanted behavior.
Thanks for your question!
Kevin Duggan CPDT-KA
Kevin is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT.org) and is a Canine Good Citizen Evaluator through the American Kennel Club. He currently resides in Ohio with his dog, V, a six-year-old Shepherd/Lab mix, where he operates All Dogs Go To Kevin, LLC, specializing in helping build positive relationships between humans and their canine companions using clear communication, not pain and fear. For more training tips and tricks, and to meet his amazing dog, V, follow him on Facebook by clicking here.
