If your house-trained puppy or recently rescued dog pees on the floor when people come over or when you arrive home, it may be due to submissive or excitement-based urination. Any inappropriate urination, regardless of how or where it occurs, could signal an underlying health problem, so it's worth knowing what submissive or excitement-based urination looks like—and when something more serious may be affecting your dog.

For older dogs, occasional incontinence is not uncommon, but you should have your dog evaluated by a veterinarian to rule out health issues. For house-trained puppies, it often takes some sleuthing to find the root of the problem.

We will help you distinguish between submissive and excitement-based urination in your dog and learn how to address it.

What Is Submissive and Excitement-based Peeing in Dogs?

Dogs (especially puppies) will sometimespee when they are in an exciting or overwhelming situation. It may appear to be involuntary, and it often leaves a puddle at their feet or you may find lots of little drops ofurine on the floor as they walk or run around the area. This is not the same as dogs who are having urinary accidents in the house or lift their leg to urine mark.

Why Do Dogs Urinate When Acting Submissive or Excited?

There are several reasons why your dog might pee when excited or scared, such as demonstrating they are not a threat or because of their excitement. It is also important to consider that your pup may have an underlying health problem contributing to the behavior.

Showing They Aren't a Threat

Dogs who urinate while exhibitingsubmissive behaviors are signaling that they are not a threat. These dogs may pee when someone approaches, stands over them, or uses a loud voice. Ironically, dogs may urinate submissively if there's a history of rough treatment or punishment after inappropriate urination, as being yelled at or scared makes them urinate more to further minimize the threat. This is sometimes seen in rescued dogs and dogs who are shy, anxious, or fearful. Other signs of submissive behavior they may show include cowering with their tails tucked, ears back, and/or rolling over onto their backs to expose their bellies.

Excitement

Excitement peeing usually happens inpuppies, and they sometimes outgrow it. However, they won't lose the habit overnight. These are the dogs that tend to pee when excited—either while playing, when you come home, or when new people and/or dogs visit. Patience and understanding are essential in training a puppy out of this behavior, and you may need to make some short-term modifications to your routine to help prevent these accidents.

Health Problem

Inappropriate urination is not always caused by submissive or excitement-based issues. Several health problems can affect your dog's urinary habits and bladder control, includingurinary tract infections,bladder stones, cystitis, or inflammation within the bladder. In addition,kidney disease,diabetes, nerve damage, or spinal cord injuries as well as other physical disorders may cause inappropriate or excessive urination. Some dogs also have conditions that may cause them to leak urine or urinate without any awareness, known asincontinence, and this can be congenital or something that develops later in life.

Intact male dogs will often mark by lifting their leg and intentionally urinating on things. This is normal behavior for male dogs, though ideally restricted to outside the house. Neutering usually resolves or significantly reduces marking behavior. If the behavior continues long after neutering, consult with your veterinarian to explore ways of modifying the behavior and ruling out any underlying medical problems.

How to Stop Submissive or Excitement Urination

Before addressing submissive or excitement-based urination, it's crucial totake your dog to the veterinarian to rule out any health problems. A urinalysis will test your dog's urine for common issues, such as infection, which can be treated with antibiotics. Other diagnostic tests, like X-rays and ultrasounds, can identify problems within the urinary tract, including bladder stones, cystitis, or certain kidney issues. Additionally, your vet can perform blood work to check for signs of metabolic, endocrine, or organ disease. Many conditions that cause excessive or uncontrollable urination in dogs can be medically treated, although some may require surgery.

Submissive Urination

To treat submissive peeing, do not hit, scold, or yell at your dog after they have peed. Instead, focus on building your dog's confidence by teachingpositive reinforcement methods. This is the same reward-and-praise process used toteach simple tricks (rollover, fetch). You'll also want to modify how you interact with your dog using the following non-threatening postures:

• Avoid direct eye contact, approach your dog from the side, and crouch down to your dog's level.
• When petting your dog, go for under the chin rather than reaching over the top of the head.
• Keep all greetings calm and take your dog outside to pee as soon as you get home.
• If your dog pees in the house, simplyclean it up without making a fuss or yelling.
• Reward and praise your pup when they pee in the appropriate spot.
• Remind guests to follow the same approach when they greet your dog and consider having your dog meet new people and dogs outside in case of an accident

Excitement-Based Urination

To help your puppy with excitement-based urination, maintain a calm, quiet demeanor and be consistent.

• Try keeping all playtime outside or in a specially prepared area with newspapers or puppy pads to protect the floor. This way, if there is a little accident due to overexcitement, it isn't a big deal.
• When there's an accident, just as with submissive peeing, don't reprimand or punish your pup. Simply clean it up and don't draw attention to it.
• Be sure toclean up any stains thoroughly, preferably using an enzymatic cleaner, so the dog is less likely to pee in that area again.
• Give your dogtreats when they pee in the correct place and keep all greetings to a minimum. You may even want to ignore your dog when you first arrive home. This gives your dog a chance to calm down on their own. Ask your guests to do the same.
• When your dog pees while out on walks, give praise and treats. The same goes for peeing in designated areas.
• Consider using a crate to create a safe space for your dog, as well as a space you can use when you cannot carefully supervise your pup. This will reduce the risk of accidents in your house and help create a consistent routine for your dog.

All these things should not only help your dog break the habit of peeing when excited but will also help you cultivate a calmer, more confident dog.

Seek Professional Help

When you've tried everything but your dog continues peeing when excited or submissive, you may need to consult with acredentialed animal behaviorist. Sometimes, getting a professional point of view on the problem can help—a specialist may identify patterns in your puppy's behavior that you are missing and create a custom behavior modification plan.