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Peeing when Excited

Mandy and Molly

Active member
Hi Guys,

Sorry if this has been asked before, i have tried doing a search of the threads but couldn't find anything.

We have had Molly (16 weeks old) for 1 week and 2 days now and she is almost 100% potty trained. She goes outside to do her business and is quite happy to go outside on her own to do this. We are fortunate enough to have a large high wooden fence that surrounds our entire back yard, so we can keep our sliding door open enough for her to get in and out to do her business.

However when Molly is excited..ie-when we come home, or when myself or my partner wake up in the morning, she pees! Usually this involves me jumping out of bed, grabbing her and running outside before she gets a chance to realise whats happening! She sleeps in the corner of our bedroom in a little doggy bed. She has never been crated.

I know that a lot of puppies pee when they are excited, and its usually only just a bit..unless she has a full bladder when she gets excited in which case it can be quite a bit :mad: I have a puppy pee de-oderiser i use for cleaning when this happens so she cant smell where she has been before.

Is there a way i can stop this from happening? I have tried not acknowledging her, getting down to her level to pat her(incase of submissive peeing which she did a bit at first, especially with my partner as his voice can sound quite deep). Usually i just get her to run outside or onto a potty pad i have right next to the door so that she can do her excited piddles there, when we come home from outings/work etc.

Any comments/info/help is appreciated :) I am more than patient to let this just fade as she's older as its not a big issue but it makes getting up in the morning quite annoying...
 
We cannot stop this from happening, and we cannot scold or punish the dog because they don't know it's happening and cannot control it. It is not a house-training issue.

Our Sophie is 2 1/2 years old and can still do it if she's excited or intimidated and her bladder is not 100% EMPTY --- usually excitement is the cause in her case. We have to stay calm at all times and not feed the excitement. This is what works for us and our dog, and might work for you but you can only try. Sophie is a highly strung little dog once she is 'triggered'. When people come to visit, I now have her sit several feet away and she cannot come up to greet them until they've been in the house for five minutes. By then the excitement has dwindled a bit, and she's much calmer.

Often this is a submissive urination ('Google' it) or due to excitement. Whatever.... we cannot train them and cannot scold them. I blot it up with white vinegar & water and go about my business.

FWIW, I would suggest she be in a crate at night. You'll have less messes to clean up. Calmly take her from the crate for that first morning pee. With each dog we've owned, we teach them to wait in the crate ("wait" is the command) when the door is opened, until they are told they can exit. It teaches them some self-control as well as who is the boss (well, we try to teach them who is the boss-LOL)
 
One of mine, also a female, did this when she was young. She grew out of it by the time she was about 18 months old and the only time it happens now is when my mother visits... no idea why but she pees all over the place when greeting her. Even if my mother ignores her she still does it. Happens with nobody else, just my mother - she must feel super special :lol:
 
My boston terrier did this when she was young as well. I don't remember exactly when she stopped, but by 6 months it was less frequent. Ignoring is the best thing, because if you make a big deal of it the dog will pee more. I kept my boston in the kitchen until she was older, it made clean up so much easier. You will just have to accept this as part of her...personally I would crate her at night because you said her biggest mess is in the morning.
 
Nalu outgrew her tendency to greet some people by wagging and peeing as she approached them. Now she advances a little and then walks away without peeing. Not sure why but it's OK with me. I've heard other spaniel types have similar issues even as adults.
 
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Yes I have delt with this, and surprisingly it always seems spaniels have a problem with this!!! My Rottweiler was a very submissive and exciteable pee-er, in a big dog this was quite a nightmare. Being calm was the essence of controlling this issue. Come home, don't even make eye contact, no petting...command "outside", then after getting emptied we greeted him and he did is excited but wiggles :)

Luckily with Coco we haven't had a problem with this at all, but having delth with it for over a year with my rottie I feel for you as it can be quite a frustrating experience. The rottie DID outgrow it by the time he was around 18 months old, but did still ocasionally pee submissively if he was scolded (for chewing on socks or something lol!). He was such a sensitive boy :)
 
Thistle does this as well. Anytime someone comes over I have them wait outside, and bring the dogs out on leashes to introduce them.

It has gotten less frequent, and I expect she'll outgrow it.
 
Hi Guys,

Good to know i'm not the only one! We have tried the avoiding eye contact and completely ignoring her as we walk inside..but she still jumps around and pees and wags her tail like mad, all the while we aren't even looking at her!!
Im hoping she grows out of it, its quite frustrating to have to clean it up twice a day!

And i never scold her or yell or raise my voice in any way because i doubt she even realises she's doing it!
She does pee submissively around my partner every now and then which we cant do anything about either, although he has started talking like a 5 year old girl to her to stop it :lol:
 
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