Submissive Urination

[*blackrose]

Yet another Cooper problem.

He is a very submissive dog and it has gotten to the point that it is annoying. If he thinks he is even remotely in trouble, he runs and hides in a "safe spot" and then bellies up. If you approach him, he urinates all over himself. Now, this wouldn't be a huge problem if this only happened when he was really in trouble...but his version of being in trouble includes us letting the dogs outside to go to the bathroom, letting him out of his crate in the morning, putting him in his crate at night or when we leave, looking at him the wrong way...

Needless to say it is getting very annoying having to constantly clean up him and washing whatever he was laying on at the time.

So, how do we work around this? We can be as sweet talk-y as we want and it doesn't help. This morning when I was letting them out after eating he ran and hid by the couch, and I crouched down, turned sideways, and just talked in a happy voice to him. He scooted along the floor to me on his back with his belly up, but we only had a little bit of dribbling instead of full water works. Once I put his collar on him he popped right up and went outside like a normal dog. So at least some semblance of body language/tone gets through to him.

I was thinking we should teach him a "safe" recall word that means when we say it he gets a treat, in the hopes that we can use that to get him to come to us when we need him to in the house instead of running and hiding. And when he does turn into a pile of sap on the floor, to just ignore him or do like what I did this morning and become as non-threatening as possible and wait him out in the hopes that he'll realize we aren't upset with him.

(I don't even understand why he thinks we're upset with him when we call him...we've never associated coming to us with punishment, especially not going outside.)

Am I on the right track? Any other tips/ideas?

 

[Barbara!]

I need answers to this, too. Lol.

 

[JessLough]

Have you tried any confidence building games?

 

[Kilter]

What if you ignored him for a while, to see if that changes things? Put gates up or an xpen so you don't have to chase him down, I'd even be tempted to get a long line and have it on him and just go get the end of it as needed, no calling him, just lead him out. If he's kept on surfaces that are easy to clean and in a different sort of crate, and just ingored it may help him stop the cycle.

That does not mean you never touch him etc. but rather than calling him and so on, just get him. If he seeks out attention give it accordingly of course.

There was a dog that came into boarding last week that summissive pooped, a first for me. He went into the center pen when he arrived with his owners, who said it was a huge issue for him. When I went out a little while later, said hello to him in a quiet voice and he ran up and pooped in front of me. This week, after being more or less on 'ignore' compared to his owners constant attention, he came up for a pat, was quite upright and alert and no pooping/peeing in front of people. He was even barking with another dog a few times yesterday, where the first day he sat and shook and drooled in the corner. Totally different dog!

 

[JessLough]

Also, a thing to remember... He just went through a huge change (moving with your boyfriend) and he doesn't really have consistency in the sense that he's constantly with andifferwnt number of dogs, different people, between your house and your BFs house, etc.

 

[*blackrose]

Haven't tried any cofidence building games. Links?

Seperating him or keeping him on an easy to clean surface isn't really an option. It's a two room apartment and all carpet. But I do like the idea of a long line. I'll have to give that a shot.

He's not going between my place and Mike's, he just stays with Mike. They've actually adapted really well to the situation. Mike was already a part of their life and Cynder a frequent visitor, so becoming his full time wasn't much of a stretch. The first week was rough, but now I'd say they've fully adjusted.

 

[JessLough]

Somebody else will be more knowledgeable about them, but one is playing tug and letting him win. I've also heard of getting out some items he doesn usually see, and click/treat for any interaction with them.