Does your dog pee on you when you come home? This could be because he is happy to see you … or, he is sacred to see you. Today, we are going to talk a little bit about 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.

If you want to know “What to do when faced with Excitement Urination”, stay tuned for future posts. If the problem is immediate, email me at sales@jimhodgesdogtraining.com and place “Excitement Urination” in the subject line and I will send you the follow-up.