House Training Problems

Submissive Urination

Submissive urination is not related to house training. It is usually associated with puppies, but adult dogs, especially those from shelters that have been mistreated, also exhibit this tendency.

Why it occurs.

Submissive urination is a natural method for dogs to show ultimate respect for higher rank. With puppies, it's usually because they have not yet learned the more social way to show respect. With adult dogs, it's usually because they have been mistreated or have experienced delayed or excessive punishment. The dogs are insecure and confused and submissively urinate to show that they consider themselves the lowest rank in the pack hierarchy.

How to cure it.

First you want to make sure that the problem is not caused by a bladder or urinary tract infection. These conditions can cause uncontrolled urination.

Your next task is to build self-confidence in your dog or puppy. One of the best ways to do that is to obedience train your dog. With obedience training, you are constantly reassuring and rewarding your dog for performing properly. This builds your dogs confidence and increases his self respect. He still knows that he is low in the ranking, but doesn't have to keep proving it by submissive urination. You should also be training your puppy with reassurance and rewards for doing a good job.

For more information on puppy training click on Puppy Training.

For more information on obedience training, click on Obedience.

Since your dog is very submissive, the training should be very positive with very mild corrections.  In addition it is very important that you show as lot of patience, don't display your obvious frustrations, don't show anger in your voice and do not punish your dog for his submissive urinating. It will only make the problem worse.

A trained dog is a happy dog and has a happy owner.

For information on dog training, click on dog training.