My puppy is almost 5 months old. Whenever strangers greet him he gets so excited that he pees. I mean his whole body starts wagging and he is so excited he can’t even sit. When they reach for him he pees. He never does this with me or our family, it is only with non-family members. I have been really cognizant of the fact that he needs socialization. I have really tried to introduce him to new people and places. He seems like a confident dog but he just gets so excited when greeting strangers. If they do not pay him any attention he will sit next to me calmly but as soon as their attention goes to him it’s crazy town. Anyone have any advice? Thanks!
Hi @JB Many, many owners would be very envious of you. If the dog sits calmly next to you in the presence of other people, then that is exactly what many would wish for. Not knocking people over with overexuberance is exactly what we dog owners want. I think you are misreading the behaviour. From what you say I think he is confident with strangers. He just gets excited. Such excitement will pass as you two talk to more people. The puppy will become habituated. Given your goal, one thing you can do is ask people not to fuss over your dog. If you must, be stern but still polite and ask them not to initiate the interaction with your dog. Let the dog decide what level of interaction he wants to initiate provided you have given him permission to get up from sitting next to you. Ask the person to look at you, not the dog. The idea is to tone down the level of each interaction. But if I were you, I would be delighted if my dog just sat next to me. I wouldn't give a release cue. I wouldn't encourage the direct interaction you seek. My dog doesn't need to interact with strangers. Quietly and calmly sitting when a stranger is nearby would place me in utopia
Agree with Michael entirely. Your puppy sounds great. Mine mostly grew out of the excitement urinating by about 1 year old. I still have to encourage new people to ignore him - or stroke him very calmly on the chest if I think he can handle it. It's amazing the number of people that greet dogs by patting their heads and slapping their sides - things that are guaranteed to send my dog into a frenzy.
Thanks Michael and Ruth. He does pull the leash when he sees new people but almost always I’m able to get him in sit if I quit moving towards them and they quit moving towards us. I can have a conversation with him sitting quietly, it’s just when people try to rub his head or hit his side, like you mentioned, he goes nuts and usually starts peeing. I just need to be more firm with strangers. I read one trainer suggest having strangers toss him a treat so that they keep their distance and a neutral position but still feel like they got to interact with the dog. May give that a try.
I would not go that route. It's likely to increase his excitement. What you want is for the dog to be calm and remain so. As I said be firm. Dogs don't need strangers giving them an affectionate whack. Your role in terms of leadership is to protect the dog from inappropriate interaction.
Just totally ignore it. Try to arrange things so you meet people outdoors and then it doesn't matter. If you ignore it and don't make a big deal, he will grow out of it. If you exclaim loudly and make a deal of it, you will only make him feel more insecure and he will continue doing it - because it's called submissive urination and comes from him feeling submissive in the first place...
