My dog 1.5y/o (M) pees when excited or nervous

[elizabethannexx]

He has had this since he was 6 months, I’ve tried to do things like bend at the knee and pet under his chin instead of on top of his head. But it doesn’t matter if he’s excited enough to see me he pees. It gets on my shoes or clothes sometimes, and he does it to my friends too. It’s become a problem. He isn’t fixed yet, I was waiting til he was 2 to get him fixed, and am wondering if maybe that’s why this is happening? If you have any tips on what to do with this, please let me know.

 

[lyy150a]

@elizabethannexx I don't think it's because he isn't fixed :/ My puppy is neutered, and he does this. I wish I had a tip on how to stop it

 

[chipsj15]

@elizabethannexx Some dogs grow out of this and some don't. Solutions include management (greet outside) and being very neutral around the dog until the excitement wanes (usually includes minimal if any greeting until dog is calm). One thing I haven't tried but might be worth experimenting with is dropping treat scatters until your pup calms down. I've had a lot of luck with this approach with dogs who are over excited greeters. With jumpy greeters, I drop a scatter of treats. When they finish eating and look up, I drop another small scatter before they can jump up on me. After 5-8 scatters, the dogs are calm enough not to jump. Perhaps you could take a similar approach and just drop small scatters when he looks up but before he pees? I have no idea if that would work, but it would be interesting to try.

 

[weewillie]

@elizabethannexx Check with your vet first to make sure it's not a medical issue as opposed to behavioral. After that, your best bet would be to prevent him from getting excited. Don't greet him immediately when you see him (it's tough, I know). If people come over tell them to ignore your dog. Seems harsh, but greeting him or paying attention to him when he's excited is just reinforcing the behavior

 

[gabriel12]

@elizabethannexx I had a dog who did this until the day they passed away…..they lived for 17 years!!

We just made it a habit to greet everyone outside and have everyone pet him to make him pee

 

[cokie907]

@elizabethannexx One of my dogs used to do this. Too happy or excited she’d pee. We thought it was just a normal behavioral issue and once casually mentioned it to the vet, not thinking that this could be a medical issue. He prescribed some powder and said this can happen due to some hormonal imbalances also so give her this (whatever it was) and if it doesn’t get better we can evaluate further. That first thing fixed her issue. We were like we should have talked to him much sooner. I don’t remember the details as this was some 14-15 years ago, but yes… do ask the vet.

 

[jeffc1983]

@elizabethannexx Here is a good source! https://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/why-dogs-pee-when-excited-or-scared

 

[irchris321]

@elizabethannexx Have you sent this by email to your vet and ask if he should come in for an appointment?