Terrier training: Submissive urination
Posted by admin on
June 19, 2010
Does your terrier pee when he gets excited or when friends come over? If the answer is yes then let me explain what is going on and why this keeps happening.
The official term for this behaviour is “submissive urination”, it develops from the terrier’s natural instinct to accept authority from other animals it deems “superior”.
The urination is a sign of submission, a message to the superior animal or human that “you are in charge”, “I will do as you say” and “don’t hurt me”. This behaviour is usually more common in pups and they usually grow out of this behaviour, but if it is still present in older dogs then this is usually a sign that the dog is suffering from low self esteem or a confidence issue and more submissive than they should be. Some breeds are more submissive than others but some form of abuse can also be a contributing factor.
If your dog is still urinating as a mature dog then they are usually not aware they are doing it, it is a subconscious reaction to a specific situation, it is important not to punish your dog when they do urinate as this will only increase there anxiety and make them more insecure. Instead the main focus is on building your dogs confidence with positive terrier training and trying to break the pattern of behaviour.
First identify in which situations you dog urinates, for example if a friend or relative comes to visit, tell them what you are doing and get them involved. You want to make the whole situation as relaxed and stress fee as possible, first start by ignoring the dog and their behaviour when you first enter, do not encourage his/her excitement, avoid eye contact because in a dogs eyes this is seen as dominant behaviour and it might make him/her pee, calmly carry on what you are doing and go about your normal routine.
When they have calmed down, slowly come down to their level putting yourself sideways to the terrier, this is seen as non threatening behaviour remember you want them to stay as calm as possible and get other family and friends to do the same, speak in a soft calm voice and praise your terrier for doing so well. It is also a good idea to take your dog for a walk if you know you are going to have guests this does two things, it gets rid of any excess energy and empty’s their bladder at the same time, this will make the process that little bit easier.
If a dog is displaying extreme submissive behaviour it is very important to work on their confidence level and build them up as much as you can, positive reinforcement really works well with these dogs as it is usually negative, forceful obedience training that is the cause of their problem so you do not want to increase the problem further with more punishment.
Socializing and interaction with other humans and dogs is also great for building confidence, dogs can learn good behaviour from other well trained dogs making your job a lot easier and they will love the physical and mental stimulation, just remember to praise when he/she is doing well and let them know when they are doing a good job.
Read our Article on positive reinforcement training
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Monday 21 June 2010
Terrier training: Submissive urination
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