ex-xian

No, I'm not the one rolling over and piddling, it's my 5 month old mini-dachshund, Frodo. He never did this until about two weeks ago. Now, when we come home and bend down to pet him, he'll, well, do the submissive pee-pee thing. And when he meets someone new, he'll do it.

Any pet experts know why it just now started, and, more importantly, how I can prevent it?

ooh_child

My mom's first mini-doxie never did this. He was well housebroken, and she trained him from the time he was a small pup in "doggy" manners: no barking, no jumping, etc.

After she lost him to old age, at first she said she wouldn't get another dog. She felt she wasn't up to training another dog (she was fighting a second round of cancer at the time.) But she got another one anyway, but wasn't able to train him properly. This one did exactly what yours is doing, and once he was an adult we were never able to break him of it. He also was never house broken, barked, and generally made a nuisance of himself all the time. In other words, he was a spoiled brat!

So, all I can say is pick up a good dog training manual and work with him consistently in all training. I don't know if there's a corallation or not.

MHB

doghouse

This is a submissive behavior that is most common in young dogs. There are several situations that tend to elicit this behavior, including someone approaching, reaching over the dog�s head, patting on the head, deep or loud voice, direct eye contact, and scolding or other punishment.

In some cases, people inadvertently reward this behavior by comforting the dog or stopping what they were doing that elicited the behavior.

In other cases, there may a new stressful situation or other change in the dog�s environment that starts the problem.

The first step is to try and identify exactly which situations elicit this and try to avoid them. For example, if it happens when strangers come in, greet them outside or have the puppy confined somewhere else. Obviously you have to come home at some point, but try to downplay greetings. Initially stay standing and avoid eye contact or reaching down and just walk past the dog (i.e. ignore him).

Beyond that, desensitization can help in the short term. Start with an empty bladder and present the lowest level stimulus first. For example, kneel down, speak softly, pat the dog under chest rather than over head, avoid eye contact, and allow dog to approach you first. Then over time gradually increase intensity of stimuli.

If the dog does urinate, it is vital to NOT punish him in any way. This just increases the anxiety. At the same time, you don�t want to reward the behavior, so just ignore it.

Over the long term, counterconditioning works best -- teaching Frodo an alternative competing behavior that is acceptable and can be reinforced. For example, teach him to sit quietly, or sit up and beg, at which point he can get a treat, a toy and a calm greeting.

This training command should first be practiced at times other than greetings until he is immediately responsive. You might also consider a head halter to succeed and distract him in a more immediate manner. Next the newly trained commands should be practiced at the door, with family members entering and leaving (again perhaps with a head halter and leash to immediately distract). Ultimately, you want to boost his confidence and teach him to greet in non-submissive postures while you avoid overly dominant and fearful greetings.

If you haven�t done so already, obedience classes are great. This helps with training as well as letting him get used to different situations. Make sure you pick a class where you go with the dog, because it�s important for you to learn the training techniques as well as for Frodo to learn to respond to you, not a trainer.

All of this can involve a concerted effort and a lot of time. In difficult cases, it may help to consult with a veterinarian or veterinary behaviorist.

Finally, there are drugs that can help is refractory cases. Amitriptyline or imipramine may not only improve the anxiety but might improve urine retention. Fluoxetine, paroxetine, or buspirone are also helpful in reducing anxiety. Obviously, these should only be used under direct supervision of a veterinarian familiar with management of behavior problems.

Dark Cobra

My doxie does this as well.

When she gets too excited, she leaks.