Dogs like humans are social animals. Similarities in human and canine social structure have contributed to dogs becoming mans best friend. However, the many differences between canine and human social behavior and communication can lead to miscommunication, misunderstandings and what humans consider behavior problems. From a dogs perspective, for example, submissive urination is perfectly normal, but owners have real concerns with this issue.
A complex communication system has evolved among dogs to help establish and maintain stable pack dominance hierarchies, which are essential for a pack to work together in caring for their young, hunting and defending territory. Dominant animals use vocalizations, gestures and postures to communicate their status. Subordinate animals use submissive displays to turn off these dominant social threats. When dogs live in packs made up of their owners and other humans, they use these same gestures to communicate. Problems arise when humans do not understand these gestures or expect dogs to understand things about human society that do not come naturally. For example, humans expect dogs to not eliminate inside the house. A dog may not defecate in the room where it sleeps but it may defecate on the living room rug because it sees the rest of the house as fair game.
Submissive urination is the ultimate gesture of submission. Submissive urinators communicate that they are absolutely no threat to other dogs. In response to the submissive signals, dominant dogs stop their display.
Submissive urination can be seen in dogs of any age or sex. It is most common in puppies, which makes perfect sense because they are automatically subordinate to all the adults in the pack. It is also more commonly seen in females and smaller breeds. Submissive urination occurs when dogs are confronted with facial expressions, body postures or gestures that they perceive as a threat, including humans reaching for them, petting them on the head, leaning over them, talking to them in excited or deep tones of voice, making eye contact or punishing them verbally or physically. In canine communication, dominant gestures include staring, standing over, putting a paw across the back of another dogs neck, and low growls. Dogs simply interpret human actions as they would another dogs actions.
When submissively urinating, dogs usually show other signs of submission such as laying their ears back, tucking their tail, cowering and avoiding eye contact. They may also give a submissive grin in which the corners of the lips are pulled back, exposing molars and premolars. This should not be confused with an aggressive lip lift, which shows the incisors and canine teeth. Some dogs roll onto their sides, exposing their bellies, while giving these signals and urinating. This is not a request for a belly rub, it is a request to be left alone.
Dogs that submissively urinate expect that their behavior will stop threats from humans, but well meaning humans continue leaning over, petting and trying to comfort these dogs as they would another person. Dogs see this as a continuous threat rather than a comforting gesture. Punishing these dogs will only exacerbate the situation. A typical scenario is the owner who is frustrated because the dog urinates on the carpet every time he comes home. Believing that he has been caught in the act, the owner scolds or punishes the dog for what he believes is a housebreaking mistake. Thus a dog that is already intimidated and trying to say with its only words that it respects the owners authority is met with further threats, resulting in more frequent and intense displays of submission.
Solutions
Dogs with submissive urination should not be rushed toward when greeted, instead they should be allowed to approach on their own. Humans should speak softly, avoid prolonged eye contact, and kneel down to avoid towering over these dogs. Ignoring these dogs for the first 5 minutes after arriving home may prevent over excitement. These dogs should not be reached for, especially over the head, they should be petted under the chin, on the chest and on the side of the neck.
Dogs with submissive or excitement urination may be helped by being taught an alternate greeting behavior or to associate greetings with a different set of emotional responses. These are forms of counter conditioning. Owners should be instructed to meet their dogs at the door with a treat or toy. The dogs will learn to anticipate food or play when the owners come home and will be less likely to urinate. Especially with treats owners can shape their dogs behavior from an excited or submissive greeting to a calm one. When the dogs begin looking for the treat, owners should wait for them to sit calmly before giving it. Later, a treat should be given while their dogs are sitting calmly, being petted and not displaying any submissive gestures. Dogs with submissive urination should not be punished. Some dogs are so sensitive that even upset facial expressions or tense body language from owners is enough to elicit urination. The best way to avoid punishing dogs is to guide them toward appropriate behaviors. For example, instead of yelling “no” when their dogs jump on them, owners should teach them to sit. Dogs should be told to do the right thing, something that will result in praise and a reward, rather than being allowed to decide what to do, potentially resulting in scolding and punishment. Reducing the amount of punishment will help build confidence and reduce their tendency to show such exaggerated submissive behaviors such as urination. Other good confidence builders for dogs include positive reinforcement/reward basic training or dog sports, such as agility or fly ball. These activities also strengthen the bond between owner and dog which may have been damaged by owner frustration.
Submissive urination is a commonly encountered, normal canine behavior.It is considered a behavior problem because humans do not want their dogs to urinate in socially unacceptable locations and situations. However, submissive urination is easily managed. After owners understand and avoid eliciting the behavior , the submissive urination stops. Confidence building activities between owners and dogs can help end submissive urination and strengthen the bond between dog and owner.
Laurie Bergman, VMD
