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My 6-month-old puppy pees when excited. How do I stop this behavior?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 6 months and 5 days old | 25 lbs

I am doggy sitting my daughter's 6 month old lab/terrier mix. Whenever I get near the dog, he pees... He is so very excited to see me and jumps on me and acts wild. He is around 4 young children, my daughter and her husband. He doesn't act like that with any of them. Any suggestions?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Debi Matlack

Veterinary Technician

Published on February 6th, 2017

What he's doing is probably submissive urination. He sees you as an authority figure, or someone he's very happy to see and urinates. Submissive urination is normal canine communication. When a dog submissively urinates, he’s trying to convey that he’s not a threat. Dogs who submissively urinate usually do so when greeting people or animals, during exciting events, while playing, during physical contact, such as petting, or when scolded or punished. When in a situation that seems to trigger submissive urination, a dog will tend to display submissive postures, such as cowering, lowering the body, raising the front paws, tucking the tail, flattening the ears back, licking the lips or displaying a submissive grin. Submissive urination is most common in puppies, but some adult dogs submissively urinate as well, especially those who seem to lack confidence. The following suggestions might help you manage, minimize or stop the behavior. If possible, greet him outside. Toss a handful of small treats or a few favorite toys in his direction as he runs up to greet you. Ignore him when you first come home and walk through the door. Wait until he has completely calmed down before interacting with him. When you finally greet your dog, do so calmly. Look off to the side instead of straight at him. Sit on the floor or squat down—and avoid looming over your dog as you bend toward him. Teach your dog to perform a behavior, such as sit, when he greets people. First, practice the sit behavior outside of the greeting context, in a calm place, without other people around. When you pet your dog, touch him under the chin or chest, rather than on top of his head or ears. Keep play sessions with him low-key and play games with him that focus on toys rather than bodily contact.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 25th, 2019

    Reggie will likely outgrow this behavior by the time he is one and a half to two years of age. This is normal dog behavior. When you come in to the house, don’t greet him and instead have him go directly outside. Once he is outside, then you can greet him. Make sure to make your departures and leaving not exciting events. Because excitement tends to stimulate this behavior, try to keep Reggie calm In the house. If this is a situation where you need to hold his collar in order to get the leash on him to go outside, and he’s urinating during this time, try using a slip lead that you can just put over his head and head outside quickly. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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    Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 9th, 2018

    This type of behavior is often termed submissive urination and it can occur with excitement. It can be a little difficult to eliminate the behavior, but the best thing to do is to avoid interaction until the dog has had plenty of time to settle down, and to keep all greetings and good-byes very low key. If she seems to dribble urine or leak urine at any other time (i.e. when sleeping in her bed) it would be a good idea to see your veterinarian to rule out urinary incontinence as well which is relatively common in female dogs.

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    Answered By Debi Matlack

    Veterinary Technician

    Published on July 27th, 2018

    I don't know what tips you were given before so I'll just post everything that I have learned over time. First, submissive urination is normal canine communication. Your dog isn't trying to be bad, or doing it on purpose to make a mess. When a dog submissively urinates, she’s trying to convey that she’s not a threat. Dogs who submissively urinate usually do so when greeting people or animals, during exciting events, while playing, during physical contact, such as petting, or when scolded or punished. When in a situation that seems to trigger submissive urination, a dog will tend to display submissive postures, such as cowering, lowering the body, raising the front paws, tucking the tail, flattening the ears back, licking the lips or displaying a submissive grin. If your dog urinates indoors or at inappropriate times, it’s important to visit his veterinarian to rule out medical causes before doing anything else if you have not done this already. If she is healthy, the following suggestions might help you manage, minimize or stop the behavior. *If possible, greet your dog outside. *Toss a handful of small treats or a few favorite toys in the direction of your dog as he runs up to greet you. *Ignore your dog when you first come home and walk through the door. Wait until he has completely calmed down before interacting with him. When you finally greet your dog, do so calmly. Look off to the side instead of straight at him. Sit on the floor or squat down—and avoid looming over your dog as you bend toward him. *Teach your dog to perform a behavior, such as sit, when he greets people. First, practice the sit behavior outside of the greeting context, in a calm place, without other people around. When you pet your dog, touch him under the chin or chest, rather than on top of his head or ears. *Keep play sessions with your dog low-key and play games with him that focus on toys rather than bodily contact. Hopefully, I've given you some new tips to try to help your dog control her urination. Good luck!

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