Submissive Urination

by admin0 on March 22, 2010

When you notice that your puppy is urinates all over the floor whenever it becomes aroused, intimidated, or excited, you may have a submissive urinator on your hands. One thing that you have to keep in mind is that this is not the fault of the puppy, no matter how embarrassed or frustrated you get because of it. Puppies who are naturally shy or timid, along with puppies that have owners who are intense or yell a lot are subject to end up with a lot of submissive urination.

This is not an uncommon thing in puppies but the thing is, it can be rather messy and it can carry on over into adulthood. Most of the time, puppies or dogs will get overly excited when there are loud noises, when they are being scolded, when there are arguments between people in the house, when guests arrive, when you arrive home and even when there is an over abundance of affection when you greet each other after being apart.

Before you can learn how to address this problem, you have to understand why dogs do this. You are the master. You are the pack leader – the alpha. It is the “job” of the puppy or dog to show that they are submissive to you. This is what causes a dog to avert their eyes if you stare at them in the eyes. It is also what causes them to roll on to their backs and urinate all over the floor. The puppy is showing that it is submissive to you and that you are the boss of the show.

The first thing you want to do is to have your vet check out your puppy to rule out any possible medical problems that could be causing the extra urination. If the puppy comes back with a clean bill of health then you have a pup that is urinating to show his submissiveness to you. Now it is time to fix the problem.

One thing you can do is to down play your greeting with your pet when you first come home. You will want to make sure that friends and family are doing this as well. Either simply give your dog a little “hello” or ignore him completely until he calms down and then you can greet each other.

Putting a limit on how often your dog drinks water will help with this although it will not completely control it. At best, your submissive urinator will tinkle just a little. In addition, while you will continue to remain in control, it is important to make sure that you are building up the self confidence of your dog. Praise your puppy when he does things that meet your approval. Show him that he is loved and that he is a good dog.

The more time you spend working on this problem, the less frequently it will happen. This is something you have to be patient with. There is not a cure for this as it is a natural reaction for the puppy but it is something that you might be able to help get under control.

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Litter Pan Training

by admin0 on March 15, 2010

Many people have been led to believe that the only ways to potty train a puppy is through the use of pee pads, newspapers or going directly outside. The thing is though, many smaller breeds can greatly benefit from being trained to go inside a litter box or litter pan. In addition, since small breeds have tiny bladders, they are able to relieve themselves much more often than if they had to wait to be let outside. And yes, this is something similar to what a cat might use but it is going to be a little different.

There are already made litter pans for dogs or you can create your own by taking a cat litter box with a lid and cutting off the roof of it. This way, your little dog will have some privacy with the three walls and have the extra head room to make it easier to use and easier for you to clean. There are dog litter products on the market that clump around the waste making it easy to clean out the dog waste. There have been people concerned about puppies that might eat their waste and eat the litter though. Because of this concern, many people will use pee pads or newspapers on the bottom of the litter pan.

You will train your small puppy to use the litter pan as his bathroom, just as you would with training him to use newspapers on the floor. You want to make sure that you are keeping a very close eye on your puppy in the beginning of the training. This will ensure that you can catch your little puppy before accidents happen. In order to help make sure that your puppy’s potty training experience is successful, you want to help him out a little.

Make sure that your puppy does not have free run of the house. When you are not able to keep a close eye on the puppy, you want to make sure that he is confined to the room where the litter pan is. This might be the kitchen or a large bathroom or utility room. You can restrict the puppy’s access to other rooms by closing doors or installing baby gates.

You will want to make sure that you clean up the litter mess each time your puppy goes. Dogs do not cover their urine or stools like cats do. You do not want to deal with the smell or your puppy walking through the mess and then dragging it through the house. Keep cleaning supplies such as paper towels, bleach and water mixture in a spray bottle, a broom, garbage bags, and a garbage can nearby. In the beginning, it is very likely that your puppy will make a little bit of a mess with the litter. Once he gets the hang of it, he will be fine.

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Odor Management for Better Potty Training

March 8, 2010

When you are potty training a puppy, one of the first things that you are going to realize is that the puppy is going to have accidents in the home. If you were not aware of this before you brought the puppy home, you are sure to learn it right after. Puppies, just like human [...]

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Use a Schedule for Puppy Potty Training

March 1, 2010

Many people find that once they get into potty training their puppy that it is much harder than they thought. The thing is though; it really does not have to be. As long as you are following a few basic guidelines and keeping a strict schedule, your puppy will be potty trained in no time [...]

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Regular Eating Habits Help Puppy Potty Training

February 21, 2010

Some people tend to believe that their dog should always have food and water available. This way, the dog can get his drink or food whenever he feels like it. There are a few reasons why this is not a good idea. To start with, puppies should never have an unlimited supply of food and [...]

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Paper Training

February 12, 2010

Some people prefer to have their puppies go outside right away when they begin the potty training process. Others find that they like the idea of paper training followed by training the puppy to go outside.
There are benefits to both. If you train your puppy to go outside right away, you do not have to [...]

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Puppy Potty Training: Be Immediate and Consistent

January 8, 2010

While many people would love for their puppy to catch on to the house rules right away, it does take some time. Puppies are of course not born with an understanding of the rules and they certainly do not come with the capability of understanding right from wrong”. Puppies only learn what is right and [...]

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Leadership and dog training

July 2, 2009

Dogs are pack animals. They naturally look to a leader to know how to behave and what to do. A good leader rewards them for this by never hurting them, shaming them or misleading them. So does a good owner.
Here are a few simple ways to show your dog you’re the leader:
1) You eat first. [...]

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Does Your Dog Need More Exercise?

July 2, 2009

More dog behavior problems are caused by lack of exercise than anything else. Dogs that don’t get enough exercise are edgy and unfocused. This not only makes them more likely to get into trouble but also makes them harder to train. As the dog trainer in my puppy school class said, “A tired dog is [...]

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