What Is Submissive Peeing In Dogs?

Puppies and dogs often face challenges with submissive urination. This act arises from their need to signal their non-aggressive intent or their readiness to demonstrate submissiveness to other dogs, which leads to a phenomenon known as submissive peeing.

Different dogs show different behavioral and personality traits. Submissive peeing is one such common problem that leads to urination due to submission, excitement, and other reasons. 

So, if you’re confused about why your dog is showing this behavioral change and how you can stop it, then keep reading!

What Are the Signs of Submissive Urination?

Do you know that the very first step in finding the treatment of a problem is to recognize the problem?

Well, here is a list of some of the most common signs of submissive urination:

• Making submissive postures, like exposing the belly, rolling over, tail tucking, crouching, etc. 
• Peeing after hearing loud disturbance such as sirens, arguments, or noises
• Peeing when you greet them or scold them
• Peeing when a stranger approaches them
• When your dog pees in excitement

So, the bottom line is that there is a good chance you are dealing with submissive urination if your dog is peeing at any of the signs. 

Reasons for Submissive Urination

Here’s a fun fact. 

In the wild world, dogs normally live in packs. The alpha is the leader of the group and the betas are the followers. 

Betas show submission to their leader by rolling on their back and urinating on themselves. This conveys a message to the alpha dog that they are not a threat and that they accept his role. 

This is a natural behavior in the wild world, but why does your dog urinate submissively at home? 

Read on to know the major reasons for it!

Anxiety

Your dog may suffer from stress or separation anxiety. This may happen when there is a sudden change in the environment around them such as changing houses. 

They could also become anxious when you are introducing someone new or you have a new pet in the house. 

Shy Nature 

Some nervous peeing dogs are very shy by nature. They tend to become submissive to their owners and show submission by peeing on themselves. 

Past Experience

Your dog may suffer from a bad past experience that keeps haunting them. If your dog was treated harshly in the past, they are more likely to start submissive urination. 

Insecurity 

If your dog does not know how to behave properly and they are unclear of the rules, they will stay insecure forever. 

Once they perceive you as the leader of the pack, they will start showing submissive postures and behavior to avoid your punishment. 

How to Stop a Dog From Submissive Peeing?

Now, the question arises – how to stop submissive peeing?

Here’s how to do it:

1. Never Punish Your Dog

First of all, never punish or scold them for urinating submissively. This will only make the situation much worse. 

Moreover, positive reinforcement training methods are a good way to teach commands instead of punishing and scolding. 

2. Fix an Appointment With the Vet

Visit your vet to check for any medical conditions. Underlying medical conditions may become the main reason for the problem. 

3. Try Reducing Stress and Anxiety in Your Dog

Do not change the environment around your dog and keep it as consistent as possible to avoid stress and anxiety. 

There are certain medications your vet may prescribe that can help with fear and anxiety. However, ensure that you use them only after consulting the vet!

4. Prevent the Urine Smell

Eliminate the urine smell from wherever your dog urinated. Due to the smell, they may think that it is the right place to pee and they will keep doing it repeatedly.

You can make use of a pet odor eliminator or even pee pads to reduce or prevent the foul smell!

5. Try Not to Seem Very Dominating

Firstly, try not to seem confrontational or dominant by avoiding direct eye contact as much as possible. Dogs may interpret as you being the alpha. This leads to submissive peeing. 

Additionally, try bending down on your knees to your dog’s level and show them that they should not fear you. 

6. Make Greetings Casual

Avoid loud voices or bear hugs while greeting. Your dog may interpret these actions as acts of dominance and power. Try to keep greetings as casual as possible. 

7. Encourage Them With Rewards

Reward them when they obey your orders and commands. Moreover, you can also reward them for confident postures. Soon, they will stay in the correct posture for getting rewards.

So, following these tips will help your dog overcome their fears and become more confident gradually! 

Ruling Out Medical and Behavioral Problems for Submissive Peeing

Before you try making your dog more confident, you should rule out any medical conditions if your dog keeps peeing in the house. 

These medical conditions could cause your dog to urinate abnormally:

Urinary Tract Infection 

Urinary tract infections can make your dog urinate in small amounts frequently throughout the day. 

Change in Diet

A sudden change in diet could make your dog develop a house-soiling problem. Your dog may start having diarrhea and irregular urination. 

Gastrointestinal Upset

Gastrointestinal upset is another potential medical cause for urinating abnormally

Additionally, your dog may also have certain behavioral problems such as:

Incomplete training

If your dog is not trained properly on how and where to eliminate their urine, they might start peeing abnormally. 

Marking Territories 

It is common in the animal world to pee on territories to spread the smell and show dominance. Your dog may basically pee around your house to claim it as their property.

Final Thoughts 

In the end, if you want to prevent any bad habits of your dog, you need to give them some of your time and make quick observations. 

Trust me, by the time, you follow all the above-mentioned tips, your dog will forget about submissive peeing!

So, if this article was helpful for you, then don’t forget to share and comment on it!

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