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Diamonds in the Ruff
Submissive Wetting & Excitement Peeing
How to greet a sensitive dog
WHY does my dog leak when I reach to pet her? When I first get home? When meeting someone new?
Submissive urination is not a house training problem, it’s a natural greeting behavior of a sensitive dog who lacks confidence. It is often triggered by a frontal posture, when a person leans toward them to say 'hello' or reaches over their head to pet them.
Why does it happen?
Urine is part of canine communication. Dogs leave urine scent when they mark along a trail. It's information: "Spot was here." Shy dogs "introduce themselves' with a puddle so the person or animal can "get to know her" in a less invasive way, by smelling the puddle, rather than needing to get up close and personal. "You can smell me over there."
Excitement wetting is common in immature dogs who are over excited. "So excited I wet my pants."
The good news is, they usually do outgrow leaky behavior.
Age and life-experience are the real solution. In the mean time, we can minimize the frequency and size of the puddle by minimizing the triggers and the negative impact by introducing them to new people outside where it doesn't matter, or on easy-to-clean surfaces - the kitchen tile, not the carpet!
A common greeting that causes leaking: frontal posture, reaching arms. Turning sideways can reduce the amount of leaking.
What do do about "wet greetings" ...
Submissive urination/excitement urination is often seen in sensitive personality types and it will gradually subside with confidence building and socialization and by gradual desensitization - gentle exposure to the trigger until it becomes normalized and no longer concerning.
Keep excitement and stress to a minimum. When arriving home, family or guests should make no eye contact for at least 15 minutes. Only when your dog has calmed down, greet her quietly. Dogs feel less threatened and have an easier time controlling their excitement when guests don't make eye contact or try to make friends right away - after the adrenaline rush has subsided, wetting will be reduced or sometimes even eliminated.
Avoid leaning over or looking down over your dog.
This is really difficult with a small breed dog or puppy! Instruct guests to squat and turn side-ways and scratch under her chin, not over her head or shoulders, to avoid accidental overbearing body postures.
It can be very difficult to guide humans in proper greeting posture. Telling people what NOT to do is rarely helpful. Focus on what you need them to do instead.
"Can you sit over here so she can come to you? If she comes over hold your hand low for her to sniff and ask her if she would like you to scratch her under the chin with just one hand. That's what she likes best. It will take her awhile to warm up." Now they are focused on offering one hand, which often turns them more sideways, and holding the hand under so they aren't reaching over the top of the dog's head.
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From Susan Garrett's DOGSTHAT.COM:
By Susan Garrett|June 5th, 2026
Click the link below to read Susan's entire blog post.
Why Your Puppy Pees When Excited
If your puppy pees when excited, it's usually not a house training problem. It's often a normal emotional response that can happen when puppies are greeting people, meeting someone new, or getting lots of attention.
They aren't choosing to do it, and in many cases they don't even realize it's happening.
The most effective way to help is to keep greetings calm, reduce social pressure, and build your puppy's confidence through positive experiences and games. Most puppies improve with maturity when we focus on helping them feel confident rather than correcting the behavior.
Check out Susan's blog for an abundance of great training tips and articles!
This handout courtesy of © CAROL A. BYRNES "DIAMONDS IN THE RUFF"
Training for Dogs & Their People
ditr_training @ hotmail.com - http://www.diamondsintheruff.com
