· By Minou Tpain
Author: Denise Partlow
Instagram: @modernk9 Carolinas
A dog peeing upon greeting us doesn’t typically elicit happy feelings from many dog owners and we struggle to understand why it is happening but it can be for a few reasons.
For some dogs this can be due to over excitement, (if that is the case, impulse control is needed here) or there could even be a medical issue (so always check with your vet first) but for many dogs this is just a sign of submission. This is a very common behavior among puppies that they typically will grow out of IF it is treated properly.
It is a fairly normal way for a puppy to show their acceptance of authority. So let’s imagine a scenario for a moment:
You walk in the door; your puppy heads over to you tail low, lightly wagging, head and neck also held low, approaching you slowly. The moment that you go to pet her she crouches even lower and then pees. And now you’re mad. You yell. Perhaps you punish.
But in reality all your dog was doing was telling you “I accept you as the authoritative figure.” But now that authoritative figure is yelling, upset and unhappy with the puppy. So the puppy now feels it’s necessary to be even more submissive- so the next time you come home the puddle is even larger. And you get madder. And so the cycle continues.
You can see that there is a huge miscommunication here.
What should’ve happened that first time when the puppy was approaching the human in that submissive manner?
We should’ve just walked away and ignored the dog for a little while until she was feeling comfortable. We can then later approach her and ask her for a sit or a down and then crouch down on her level to seem a little less intimidating to greet her…..calmly. There is no set rule that says you have to greet your dog the second you walk in the door whether they are asking for it or not. In fact when I first arrive home, I completely ignore my dogs. I do not want my arrival to represent excitement. So I wait a bit to love on them.
This is yet just another example of how important it is to understand dogs, their behavior, communication and learning process and how they are true mirrors to who we are.
