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Submissive urination


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Hi

I am wondering if anyone has any tips for me. I have 2 border collies. A 2 year old male who is just fantastic. Awesome running partner, we take agility classes and I can trust him off leash. He loves people. He is tolerant of dogs-likes to sniff hello and then moves on. Overexcited at agility matches but manageable. I also have a 6 month old female. Very very submissive. Sweet as can be and has captured my heart. But of course is very different from my male. And unfortunately a month after getting her I went back to work temporarily. I am home now and hope I haven't completely messed her up because of my work and family responsibilities. I have taken her to puppy class and she did fairly well. My training facility is in the midst of a move and I have been unable to attend the limited class schedule because of my work and family obligations. So her timid ness has escalated. Basically on a walk, while she used to avoid people who were on the sidewalk-now she will walk by and not really pay attention to them which is good. But when someone comes into the house-she sometimes barks and then will urinate. Especially with my stepdaughter-she comes over often. She doesn't bark at her anymore-but today for example went to say hi and then peed on her shoes. I don't force interactions and I tell visitors to just ignore her-but then she usually will approach and when they respond to her-she pees.

She's only 6 months old so I am hoping that I can help her over come this. I don't force interactions. It's always her choice and I never stop on walks-most people just say beautiful dogs and I thank them and move on.

I am home now and have the ability to spend a lot of time with her and am looking for ways to build her confidence. Hopefully I can get her back into classes after the first of the year-but in the meantime any suggestions?

Thank you I advance. Sorry for the long post.....

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Cute pup.

 

It sounds like you're doing the right thing letting her set the pace for introductions. But is she's OK up and until the person returns her overtures, then I'd instruct them to continue to ignore her. She's trying, but she's just not ready to really interact.

 

You could also arm them with some really yummy treats when the come in the door. Let her approach them but rather than their interacting with her -- or even looking at her -- have them toss the treat away from her. She'll be rewarded for approaching, but still won't have to deal with them interacting with her. It will also take her away from the scary new person so that she has to approach them again if she wants another treat.

 

If she's willingly taking the treats and then approaching people again, I'd wait a good long time until she's approaching people eagerly and then may slowly ask them to quietly extend a hand, then look at her, etc., etc, etc.

 

The most important thing is that they have to be teeny tiny baby steps and she has to be eagerly approaching consistently with each new new behavior the person offers.

 

Best wishes in bringing your shy girl out of her shell.

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Teach her a nose touch to hand trick.

 

You might have some luck asking people to kneel and extend a hand for her to explore rather than bending over her or extending a hand over her head. The other bit of human 'pressure' she might be reading is eye contact, but asking visitors not to look your dog in the eye is a hard one to get them to comply with.

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Good advice!

 

Be willing (or insistent) that people ignore her and let her approach at her own speed.

 

Meet and greet outside where there is more room, clean-up is easier (as said), and she might feel more relaxed or less pressure.

 

Take her out to potty *before* guests come, and make sure she goes at least twice (as they often retain a good bit when they go the first time). Our submissive urinator did much better when I made sure she went twice so her bladder was close to empty and not just partly empty.

 

It takes time, maturity, patience, and your making sure that guests behave in the manner that will be best for your dog. It will be worth it! Best wishes!

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Thanks for the advice! All great ideas. I think I will start taking her outside to potty as soon as we hear the knocking/doorbell, then when back inside even if she approaches the guest I'm going to have them ignore her. My older one gets so excited for company I think that's why she approaches probably before she really ready. So I think ignoring him too for a min is a great idea as well. It will hopefully help,him to calm a little. Not everyone loves those dogies kisses like me.

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My current dog, was just like yours when young. Everytime someone came to the house, he would pee, a small amount that on our beaten up hardwood floors was not a big deal, we would quietly clean up and get on with the visit. He enjoyed company once they were in the house. Evantually he just stopped submissive urination completly, not sure when but maybe around 2. The biggest thing we had learned from our first border collie who was also did this was to ignore it. Rievaulx is still not a confident dog, but he fakes confidence now as long as he has us as back up, he knows that we will always be there for him.

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Maple has this problem too. It's more likely to happen when being pet by a man, or when family members come in using exciting, high-pitched voices.

 

She only pees a few drops to a small puddle, nothing serious.

 

How we solved it? Everyone must come in the house calm, and Maple should be pottied before being greeted. At 7 months, this very rarely happens. It used to happen quite frequently.

 

I believe I read somewhere that most dogs grow out of it by the age on one or two. My grandparents have a golden retriever who still does it, but he's daft as the day is long, with poor impulse control. I'd say the reaction in his case is more of a product of environment/household.

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She doesn't always do it, but with my stepdaughter for some reason she does it every time. I have company coming over tonight, but because my 7 year old niece from Taiwan with very little exposure to dogs will be here, I'm going to keep her crated and out of the way. My older border needs to work on his greetings as well.....he loves to give kisses and although I love them-my guests aren't always as appreciative. I'm going to do some "set ups" next week with my dad and brother. I think they will be my best shot at the completely ignore her part.... My kids friends all just want to cuddle her because she's so darn cute. I will take her outside before they come and instruct them to pretend she doesn't exist until she asks for attention and even then don't look straight at her. It's good to hear that most dogs outgrow this....

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One other thing you might try (I don't remember reading this but I may have missed it) is to have those who come inside and who are willing, lie down on the floor, totally ignoring her. She might be overcome with curiosity and may find a prone person to be very non-intimidating (on the other hand, sometimes dogs get a bit anxious about something or someone in an unexpected position, so give it a try and don't do it if it's counterproductive).

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