Does Your Dog Pee When You Come Home?
July 14th, 2010
Picture this: you come home from a hard day at work, and hope to get yourself a little bit of canine therapy. You open the door, happily greet your dog and bend over to pet him. He responds by either rolling onto his back or squatting, immediately after which he produces a little a puddle at your feet. So much for human-canine bonding, you think with annoyance as you head to the kitchen to grab a paper towel and pet stain cleaner.
From the human perspective, having to clean up a doggie puddle just after arriving home certainly is annoying. However, a dog beset with this behavior can be helped. Here’s how:
Understand the context. A dog who pees when his person comes home usually doesn’t have a housetraining problem. Instead he telling that person he feels excited and/or anxious. Thus, helping your dog to hold his pee means helping him to feel those feelings a little less, or at least give him time to calm down. Obviously, scolding your dog for piddling under these circumstances is not going to help him in either the excitement or anxiety department.
Ignore him. Yes, really. No matter how much you want to give your dog a happy greeting when you walk through the door, refrain from doing so. Instead, say nothing to your dog when you arrive home. If possible, don’t even look at him. By ignoring your dog, you give him time to collect himself and you forestall the opening of his floodgates.
Get on the down-low. Often, the act of bending over to pet your dog is what triggers that piddling when you come home. Think of how you look from his perspective, especially if he’s a little dog: big, looming, and maybe even a little scary. To pre-empt the piddling that’s sure to follow, get down to your dog’s level. In other words, sit on the floor, calmly wait for him to come to you—and give him a minute or two to sniff you over and greet you before you greet him back.
Be indirect. Another human trait that can trigger spontaneous piddling is looking directly at your canine companion. Try keeping your head slightly averted and looking at him sideways.
Stay calm. When you do greet your dog, speak quietly and pet him very gently. By doing so, you’ll help remain more settled and able to keep those floodgates shut.
Related Posts
Posted in K9 Care, K9 Training | 4 Comments »
4 Responses to “Does Your Dog Pee When You Come Home?”
Susan McCullough has been a professional writer for 30-plus years, but didn't start focusing on dogs until 1996, when an overzealous Sheltie attacked and shredded a message that had been faxed to Susan's office. Instead of merely telling the sender "My dog ate your fax," Susan decided to see seek expert advice about how to share an office with one's animal companion. She turned that advice into an article for a national pet magazine, and she's been writing about dog behavior and care ever since.
I grew up with a cocker spaniel who did this. I was constantly telling friends, “That’s Brandie. Don’t pet her. She’ll pee.”
A friend’s young bulldog has this issue when people come over to visit, so they let her out onto the front lawn to greet people … that way if she piddles, it isn’t as big of a deal (at least in terms of clean up) … I guess it does nothing to address the root cause of the behavior.
Exactly, Roxanne.
I had a little mixed poodle who was a notorious anxiety piddler when I first got her. Eventually I learned to sit on the floor, and attach her leash *while looking away from her* so that she could hold her pee until I could get her outside. After a couple of years of this, the behavior stopped.
My English Springer Spaniel used to do that when I came home. We have now gotten into the routine that as soon as I walk in the door, we head out to the back yard. It’s worked and no more problems.
Glad that’s worked for you, Ann. There are instances, though, where letting the dog out into the back yard without a leash isn’t an option. That was the case with me and my mixed poodle; we lived in a second-floor urban apartment. Under such circumstances, the other techniques I described can work well, too.