Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by mia, herky, & kim on August 3, 2011 at 5:07pm

our mia also has this problem. she is fine as long as SHE does the approaching.  most people she comes in contact with in the house knows so they wait for HER to come to them. If it is someone that doesn't know I tell them immediately.  She is better than she was at first.  Now you can talk to her from afar, but no touching.  when SHE comes to them and puts her nose up to them, it is ok for them to pet her.  I can usually pet her without an accident now but it has taken almost a year to get to this point. 

Permalink Reply by mia, herky, & kim on August 3, 2011 at 5:09pm

one thing I forgot-it seems to help when we get down to her level, instead of standing over her, which I assume is intimidating to her.

Permalink Reply by Jaci & Zach ... Chimay & Del on September 1, 2011 at 12:57pm

First, relax and be glad you have submissive dog rather than an aggressive one.  Chimay used to have the same issue and she has grown/learned her way out of it.

Second, the original replies are well founded.

The vet said that Jasper should grow out of it, this is partially true.  As dogs get older they typically become more confident and independent and thus not as submissive.

As I have never witnessed first hand the behavior, I will be forced to make some assumptions, many will be what Chimay displayed during her troubled period.

For the dog's behavior to change, the situation of greeting people needs to change, as it is always going to happen and should not be avoided. When there is a knock at the door Jasper will run to the door and become very excited.  The door will open and new guest will reach down to pet Jasper, he immediately goes flat on the ground and pees.  I suggest not welcoming people immediately into the home.  When the knock comes, leash Jasper and inform your guest that you are coming out.  This accomplishes two things, it changes the setting for the initial contact and also if Jasper does pee then it's outside.  Next, instruct the guest to keep some distance between them and you + Jasper while ignoring Jasper.  This is not an unfriendly action, just a learning zone.  This distance will allow Jasper to see and smell the new person and learn that there is no reason to overreact.  Jasper will be excited, calm him by having him sit and stay, if need be distract him with treats.  Talk to the guest calmly and Jasper will learn that they are not a threat.  Once relaxed, allow Jasper and guest to fully greet each other: first by slowly closing the distance between them; then allowing Jasper to sniff without gaining any attention from the guest; followed by the guest petting Jasper once he actually walks away from the guest having finished his sniff investigation.

Remember, it takes time and effort to change our habits, especially the bad ones.  In training Chimay to not pee when I would come home, my wife would do the previous steps.  Often I would "come home" 5 or 6 times in a day, even on weekends just so she could get practice.

There are also many games and fun activities that can increase a dog's confidence, feel free to search these out and enjoy them with Jasper.

 

Permalink Reply by Jasper's Mama on September 1, 2011 at 1:18pm

Some of that is accurate.  However, Jasper still does the submissive urination with myself and my husband if we just reach down to pet him with our hands.  If I pet him with my feet 90% of the time he will not urinate, but lay there lazily and enjoy.   He does it with house guests also, meaning they have been staying with us for a few days, he is so excited by anyone petting him he tinkles.....Mind this is only with humans, with our other critters in the house he thinks he is the alpha and tries to boss the other dog and the cats around (ever watch a corgi try to herd cats, hillarious).