Q: I have a 4 month old Yorkie-Poodle cross that does submissive urination and is getting worse.

I have a background in breeding and training Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and other large dogs including field trial training and active bird hunting with my trained dogs. My college education specialized in Behavior Modification for problem children and classrooms. I taught elementary school for years. I have read everything I can find on Submissive Urination and implemented the procedures, none have worked.

Have you ever "cured" a dog like this? If so, how?

She urinates upon seeing my husband or me, picking her up, when scolded during housebreaking or any scolding. I assume she is genetically extremely sensitive or has been abused as a very young pup. 

I have tried ignoring her submissive urinating as one book recommended, she then regressed in her housebreaking and began urinating in front of us on the carpet. I have tried less dominant behavior, no eye contact, etc. but she is a small dog and I cannot always be at her eye level.

This may be an un-solvable problem.  Please advise.
Thanks,  Radiogirl 

A: Dear Radiogirl,

Submissive urination is not an un-solvable problem, especially with a four month old puppy.  Let's see if I can help. First it would be very helpful to know exactly what you've tried and hasn't worked. Training takes time to work, and if you were trying a bunch of different things, rather than sticking to one technique for a month or more, she may be confused. Especially since she is very sensitive.

Here would be what I would suggest, which is I learned from the Denver Dumb Friends League. Both you and your husband and anyone else (if possible) who interacts with the dog should follow these guidelines. I would also suggest enrolling her in a training 

   1. Take your dog to the vet to rule out medical reasons for the behavior. 

   2. Keep greetings low-key. For now, don't pick her up. 

   3. Encourage and reward confident postures from her. She can't be urinating non-stop in your presence, so as often as you can, if she is with you or your husband and not urinating, praise her. (Positive reinforcement, which I am sure you are familiar with from your readings).

   4. Give her an alternative to behaving submissively. For example, if she knows a few commands, have him "sit" or "shake" as you approach, and reward her for obeying. 

   5. Avoid approaching him with postures that she reads as dominant, for example:  Avoid direct eye contact (this means looking at her back or tail instead, not in the eyes. You can do this standing up, you don't have to get down to her level). 

   6. If you do want to pet her or get down on her level, do so by bending at the knees rather than leaning over from the waist and ask others to approach her in the same way. 

   7. Pet her under the chin rather than on top of the head. Hands coming from above, especially if she was abused, can be viewed as threatening and scary.

   8. Try to approach her from the side, rather than from the front, and/or present the side of your body to him, rather than your full front. You may feel funny sliding around at first, but this is only a temporary method while you are training her to get used to you, not get so excited/scared in your presence that she urinates.

   9. Don't punish or scold her - this will only make the problem worse. You can continuing to housebreak her without scolding. 

HOUSEBREAKING
Put her on a regular schedule of feeding (twice or three times a day for a puppy) and going out to go to the bathroom, or walking her on a leash to her papers if you are paper training her. Lots of praise if she does it in the right spot. If it has been a while and she has not gone, I would suggest calling her into a safe room (like a kitchen with a child's gate) or into a crate where she can be until you can take her out under supervision, until you take her to her bathroom spot again. Only in the hour after she has just gone should she have full run of the house. If she does have an accident, you will have to just ignore it for now, but if you are consistent and supervising her, the chances of her having one are very small.  [Also see housebreaking an adult dog]

Do let me know what you have tried before, and if not all the points above, try those for at least 3-4 weeks. You could also help build up her confidence with basic obedience training and games. You should start to see some improvement by then, and if you continue, she should stop submissively urinating all together. 

BEST Training
Pasadena Humane Society
361 S. Raymond Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91105