Tips to Stop a Puppy From Peeing When Excited

For this Omaha dog training session we helped a pair of Dachshund pups work on self-control. The main reason these guardians reached out was because they wanted to know how to stop a puppy from peeing when excited.

Copper, a two-year-old Dachshund, has been urinating inside the house both out of excitement and submission. He is shown above on the right, alongside his roommate Penny.

When Do Puppies Stop Peeing When Excited?

Puppies often stop urinating when they’re excited as they grow up and gain better bladder control and confidence. Young puppies, under 12 months old, often struggle with controlling their bladders as they are still learning. This excitement-induced urination can occur during various stimulating events, such as playing, greeting people, or returning home. When they do urinate out of excitement, it’s often just a small amount rather than a large puddle.

If you have an adult dog that is still appearing to be excited peeing, there could be an underlying issue. Your dog may not be excited at all. The pup could be submissively urinating because of being shy or anxious. If the problem persists, contact your vet about your dog possibly having a urinary tract infection.

How to Stop a Puppy From Peeing When Excited

To stop a puppy from peeing when excited you have to ignore the dog while they’re excited. This is the first thing you want to do when you have a dog who excitedly urinates because the excitement is what causes some dogs to lose control of their bladder. So instead of responding to the dog’s excited behavior, I ignored Copper until he calmed down.

Since the guardian’s top priority was to stop a dog’s excited urination, I handed them my camera so I could share more tips to help dogs with submissive or excited urination.

One thing I didn’t mention in the video above is that it’s helpful to take your dog out to potty before something exciting occurs. If their bladder isn’t too full, they won’t need to hold it in as much, which can make it easier for them to stay comfortable.

What is Submissive Urination in Dogs?

Submissive urination happens when a dog feels confronted or corrected, causing them to lose control of their bladder. It’s similar to excited urination, but triggered by different emotions. This comes from a lack of confidence or lower self esteem.

To help reduce submissive urination, try these tips. First, encourage calmness by keeping greetings low-key and avoiding making a big fuss when you say “hi” to your dog.

Changing how you greet your dog can help. Use toys or treats to distract them during greetings. If your dog is excited or nervous, have them greet people outside.

Give less attention to new people entering your home. This way your pup won’t fee threatened or confronted.

Creating a regular schedule for your dog can make them feel safe. Introducing them slowly to new experiences can help them adapt better.

Another great way to stop a dog from submissively urinating is to build up their confidence by teaching them some new tricks and commands.

The best part is, you don’t even have to be a professional Dachshund trainer to do this. We would be happy to have our expert trainers do additional in-home training sessions or the guardians can use our YouTube channel to find a few tips and tricks to teach their dogs.

Tips to Stop a Puppy From Peeing When Excited or Fearful

If the guardians commit to teaching their dogs a new trick every week for the next 8 weeks, Copper’s confidence should get to a point where he is more comfortable and stops the submissive urination. You should never get upset or punish a dog for submissive urination, this will almost certainly make things worse for the dog.

To help the guardians remember all the dog psychology tips I shared in this in-home dog training session, we created a roadmap to success video that you can check out below.