Problem with my dog. Advice needed

[MinnieBee]

Hi, I'm having a problem w/my two year old Yorkie. Ever since she was a puppy she had a problem where she pees at random times. But that problem is getting worse as she gets older. When people would pet her, when she was young she would pee sometimes. Tonight when I tried to put her to bed, she peed all over herself and her bed. We have a routine every night where I give her two treats and then open her crate door for her so she can go to bed. I did that tonight and said "come on, time for night nights" all she did was look at me, roll on her side and then start peeing.. She loves her crate and has slept in it since she was small. She's never done this. A few weeks back, I was rubbing her belly and also playing with her and she just started peeing. Does anyone else have this problem? I just googled it and it said submissive urination is common in some dogs. She's perfectly healthy & had a check up not that long ago. I don't know if I can train her not to do this.. All I picture is me trying to train her and her peeing everywhere.

[Nancy1999]

It's possible it's submissive urination, I think there are things you can do to train her and give her more confidence. A routine physical doesn't test for everything unless you've given the doctor symptoms of something he won't test for anything out of the ordinary. Have you told your doctor about this? I would think he would want to test for a bladder infection or diabetes. I'm fairly certain these things wouldn't have been on the routine test.

[yorkiemini]

I can hear that you are very distressed about this situation. You said this has gone one since a puppy and she is 2 now? Did the vet do an urinalysis at the last check-up or anytime in the past?

I had a friend who had a problem kind of like this - medication helped, but it could be caused by several different things.

I know that is no solution, but you need to know there is no infection or urinary/bladder condition present.

Keep us posted.

[windwalker]

You say when friends pet, is she socialized, did you introduce her to the world as a pup? Sometimes if not socialized to many different people, life experiences as a pup they will fear pee at anything new or out of ordinary and get worse. Vet first, as they can explain, advise in detail, then try retraining/socializing to get over anxiety fear.

[chickensmith]

Our 10 year old weenie does this....she has apparently since she was a pup....we adopted her. The vet told us she has a weak bladder and we give her a supplement to help her. She still does it if her bladder is real full and she needs to go out....but it's not as often as it used to be. It used to happen while she was sleeping also. I don't know if this is the same thing...but we did have a bunch of tests done that all came back negative and her diagnosis was simply weak bladder. The pills she takes now are from the pet supply store. They are senior bladder support and have cranberry in them. I would definately check with the vet since she is quite young....has she had any pups? Is she spayed?

[lynzy420]

Awww, yes it sounds like submission peeing. My CJ did this too, my vet said that when people or myself come in just ignore her for awhile and let her approach them...I use to walk in and say "Hiiiiiiiiiiii babies" all excited and she would do it, friends use to go right to her etc., that worked. Change the routine, instead of saying "come onnn sweetie come to bed" etc., just pick her up and put her in her bed and say "good girlllllll" give her her treats and walk away. Change the situation for her and I think after a couple weeks you will see a huge change.

[MinnieBee]

Originally Posted by lynzy420

Awww, yes it sounds like submission peeing. My CJ did this too, my vet said that when people or myself come in just ignore her for awhile and let her approach them...I use to walk in and say "Hiiiiiiiiiiii babies" all excited and she would do it, friends use to go right to her etc., that worked. Change the routine, instead of saying "come onnn sweetie come to bed" etc., just pick her up and put her in her bed and say "good girlllllll" give her her treats and walk away. Change the situation for her and I think after a couple weeks you will see a huge change.

Yes it's def submissive peeing. I read all about it today. Like I said, she's done this since she was a couple months old. She's socialized around people and other animals very much so. When she first started doing this, she would only pee when one particular friend would pet her. He would rub the back of her head and she would look relaxed but then she would pee alittle.. As she's gotten older, now she'll do it at strange times. Like at bed time last night. Also if shes nervous or if we're around lots of other dogs barking. I will change up our routines. I found a great website that suggested to do the same. I will also not pay attention to her right when I enter a room. I tend to talk with a high pitched baby voice to her sometimes and give her attention right away. I will try different things and hope for the best.

[ritapatt]

My Ziva started peeing after her spay at 6 months- it seemed to have weakened her just enough so as she relaxed on my lap in the evenings she would wet me,when we had visitors,and her bedding was often damp in the morning too. After testing the vet worked with me on giving her a small dose of Proin (prescription)- we used it for at least a year working on better pottying habits, etc. I think she had a small immature bladder, and an overflow issue and the meds allowed us to grow through it easier. She is 5 and quite dry now!

[chachi]

First you have to rule out medical problems then you can work on it if its a behavioral problem

[Oddsock]

When we were kids we had a dog like this sadly my dad's a p&^%$ and he just got rid of her. She was just so thrilled everytime he came home, and so was so gentle and submisive.

Great that you'd found a site with tips. Just a couple of things, you could also try. Lower you tone and sound calm, don't over talk to her. Don't lean over her. Also some dogs respond better if you stand sideways to them, rather than face on.

When I worked at kennels, they'd always send me to get the dogs that bit. (grooming parlor clients dogs) The dogs that sank low and stayed back at the end of the runs, I approached by squatting down, talking softly and very slowly going backwards till next to the dog. It never failed, though I looked a stupid plank. Not saying you need to do this, but just saying just check your body language, at times she pees. Perhaps there is a pattern, you can change.

Good luck with this, so pleased to hear of someone who's willing to work with their dog. Will be cheering you both on.