Infuriating dog behavior

[Trench]

I have a year old dachshund that we have owned for four months. About a month ago he started a really aggravating habit. Whenever I would attempt to put his harness on him to take him outside, he would pee. He would only do it when I was the one putting it on him, not when my girlfriend or her son did it. He also would only do it at the very moment I reached under him to close the clasps on the harness. I could put the harness around him and leave it for any length of time and he wouldn't pee until I tried to closed the clasps. This is the only time this behavior would occur and he shows no signs of being nervous or afraid of me. He regularly comes to me for affection, which he receives.

Last week he began doing it to my girlfriend as well. We decided to get him a collar that we would leave on him permanently rather than the harness which we placed on him and removed as needed. Since the peeing always occurred only at the moment the claps were fastened, these seemed to be a good solution to the problem. However, now he pees at the moment the leash is attached to him.

This is driving me absolutely insane. What on earth could be his problem?

 

[dpmtherrien]

He connects something with the collar and leash. Every dog has their own way of doing things. I wish I could tell you the answer, but you might want to run it by your vet. Good luck.

 

[strat1117]

dpmtherrien is correct. You have somehow inadvertently trained him to urinate as soon as you clip the leash on, so now you must retrain him.

Take him outside to where you want him to urinate and then put the leash on him. Praise him like crazy when he goes where you want, maybe even give him a treat if he responds well to food training (as most dogs do). When he starts to urinate in the house, say "NO" very loudly and sharply and carry him out to where you want him to go as quickly as possible (this only works if you catch him in the act -- if you do it after he's done, he'll have no idea what you are talking about). Eventually, he'll get the idea.

Good luck!!

 

[Trench]

dpmtherrien is correct. You have somehow inadvertently trained him to urinate as soon as you clip the leash on, so now you must retrain him.

Take him outside to where you want him to urinate and then put the leash on him. Praise him like crazy when he goes where you want, maybe even give him a treat if he responds well to food training (as most dogs do). When he starts to urinate in the house, say "NO" very loudly and sharply and carry him out to where you want him to go as quickly as possible (this only works if you catch him in the act -- if you do it after he's done, he'll have no idea what you are talking about). Eventually, he'll get the idea.

Good luck!!

The thing is, there was no time for any inadvertent training to take place. Before he was only peeing at the moment his harness clips were clasped. He did not pee when the leash was attached to his harness. If we left the harness on him for several hours, he wouldn't pee when we attached the leash.

The peeing at the moment of leash attachment only occurred when we switched from the harness to the collar, and it happened the very first time. It's as if he thought to himself since he doesn't have the harness anymore, he had to come up with a new excuse to pee at an inappropriate time.

 

[TimmyBoston]

It's a submissive behavior, don't scold him when he does it, he'll do it more.

Also read the "my poor dog" thread and be grateful you have a healthy dog.

 

[calcustom]

What is the interval between the outside visits?
It may be he needs more frequent trips, then again he may of developed a bladder condition.
Hope you get it figured out.

 

[Tolduonce]

Not a dog expert, don't even have one right now. I did stay at a Holiday Inn a few months ago though. Here's the thought that popped into my head when you mentioned the peeing thing. Maybe (s)he's associating the harnessing with going outside to pee, kinda like we sometimes have to pee at the sound of running water.
Just one man's intuitive thinking. What would happen if you put the harness/leash on while outdoors, waited for the peeing and then immediately redid the whole thing on an empty bladder with a reward for not peeing?

 

[Trench]

It's a submissive behavior, don't scold him when he does it, he'll do it more.

Also read the "my poor dog" thread and be grateful you have a healthy dog.

We lost a dog in November. He was a very dog-aggressive chihuahua/terrier mix and shot out of the house after a dog that was walking down the sidewalk when my girlfriend's son opened the door to go outside. He overshot the sidewalk, fell into the road, and was promptly struck by a passing car. We're definitely already grateful for the healthy dog we do have. We just want him to stop urinating when he shouldn't be.

I've considered the submissive behavior possibility. I'm not sure if that's the case since it's the only time he displays the behavior. It's so odd that it was triggered by something so specific, and once that specific thing was taken away, he found a new specific trigger that has always been there, but wasn't a problem before. If it is submissive behavior, how do we get him to stop? It's not like we can ignore him in this situation as would work with a dog that submissively urinates out of excitement when his owners come home.

Not a dog expert, don't even have one right now. I did stay at a Holiday Inn a few months ago though. Here's the thought that popped into my head when you mentioned the peeing thing. Maybe (s)he's associating the harnessing with going outside to pee, kinda like we sometimes have to pee at the sound of running water.
Just one man's intuitive thinking. What would happen if you put the harness/leash on while outdoors, waited for the peeing and then immediately redid the whole thing on an empty bladder with a reward for not peeing?

I've already taken to leashing him outside as I've gotten tired of cleaning pee off the floor. When we get to the potty spot, he's still got plenty left in the tank. It might be an interesting experiment though to see if he'll do it twice in a row in quick succession.

 

[johnmrson]

Do you know if he was abused prior to you getting him. I noticed you said he was a year old and you've had him for 4 months.

 

[Trench]

Do you know if he was abused prior to you getting him. I noticed you said he was a year old and you've had him for 4 months.

I highly doubt it. We got him from a sweet old lady who was very sad to give him up and called several times during the first week to just to make sure he was doing ok. Plus, I believe if he had been abused he would have been showing this behavior from the beginning. He was fine for the first three months. Then this started out of the blue.

 

[mgarbell]

We have 2 dachshunds and one pees when he gets excited. Not a lot, more like he leaks. I've been led to believe that this is a common thing with dachshunds.

He was probably just really excited when you got him ready to go out, and now he's excited when others do it as well.

We had the problem when we got home. We had to start ignoring him at first and not make a big deal about seeing them again. He still does it on occasion, but not every time now.

Our other one pees when we leave. He's an anxious mess. We got him that way. Really bad separation anxiety. We've tried natural solutions but nothing seems to work, and there's no way I'm putting him on meds. We just lock them out when we leave now. Unless it's too cold out, then we just come home with a 50% chance we'll have to clean up some pee.

Dachshunds also really like to dig, so expect that too.

 

[ouch]

It's a submissive behavior, don't scold him when he does it, he'll do it more.

Also read the "my poor dog" thread and be grateful you have a healthy dog.

Listen to him.

Tim's the Cesar Millan of B&B.

 

[The Nid Hog]

My first reaction is that you shouldn't take him outside then hook up his leash. That would just defer dealing with the problem. You need to train him to wear the leash in the house. Maybe take him for a good long walk so that his little bladder is drained, then work with putting on the leash in the house and rewarding him. At the first sign of a drip, whisk him back outside.

I'm wondering if the previous owner might have trained him to pee on those absorbent mats in the house? Not unusual for older people. That might account for his confused response.

 

[strat1117]

It's a submissive behavior, don't scold him when he does it, he'll do it more.

Also read the "my poor dog" thread and be grateful you have a healthy dog.

What he's describing sounds different to me than submissive "piddling," which, as I understand it, is more prevalent in females than males. My standard poodle did it when she was a pup, wghenever a male walked into the house (I have two sons, so there were a lot of males waliking into my house. She soon outgrew it with a lot of patience and careful training in the way that I suggested. Nevertheless, if this is in fact submissive piddling, then I agree, scolding won't help. However, the OP still needs to get the dog to where he wants him to pee so he can praise him to the skies for doing it right (positive reinforcement), and avoid giving him the chance for an accident. I think the best bet is to attach the leash outside the door, preferably in the spot you want him to pee. Fortunately, you have a small dog and you should be able to carry him. anyway, just like people, every dog is different, so I guess you need to figure out what works best for yours. I can only tell you what has worked for mine.

Good luck!

 

[tlanning]

He may out grow it, mine has. I, We have always had at least 2 German Sheppards, (and still do) and never thought I'd LOVE A LITTLE dog, but I do. Ginger was inherited from my daughter-in-law, (daughter) when she lost her husband, our son.
She had been abused prior to them acquireing her and the first thing she did when anyone entered their or my home was to pee everywhere. This appeared to done out of pure joy and the excitement of seeing anybody. She loves everybody. Ginger is a ****su mix which stands about 2 hands tall and waddles as she walks. Fast as lightning. the most solid 30 pounder I've come accross. She now sleeps directly under my arm but when she first came, didn't, I intensly disliked her. When she saw me in the morning she would run as hard as she could and slam into my chest literally knocking the wind out of me when she began that ritual just to say hello. Well my wife laughs about the way we feel about one another but somehow i grew to love her and were inseparable.

My point, (sorry, but I do love her) is that somewhere along the way she quit her peeing. I came home rcently after being hospitalized a prolonged period and she dribbled but to the best of my knowledge that was her first slip in over 4 years.

 

[SRock]

My wife and I have a mini-dachsund as well. She went through a period of about a year where she would pee the minute either one of us walked through the door. She charge us so excited and her tail swinging so fast she couldn't run straight and the minute you'd try and pet her she peed everywhere.

It's a submissive behavior, don't scold him when he does it, he'll do it more.

Also read the "my poor dog" thread and be grateful you have a healthy dog.

+1

 

[strat1117]

My wife and I have a mini-dachsund as well. She went through a period of about a year where she would pee the minute either one of us walked through the door. She charge us so excited and her tail swinging so fast she couldn't run straight and the minute you'd try and pet her she peed everywhere.

What Rob is describing is classic submissive piddling. I don't think we are necessarily doing the OP any service by suggesting that what his dog (a male) is doing, is the same thing.

 

[SRock]

What Rob is describing is classic submissive piddling. I don't think we are necessarily doing the OP any service by suggesting that what his dog (a male) is doing, is the same thing.

Actually I hadn't given that much thought. That said, I can't see why a male dog might not be capable of that very same thing?

 

[strat1117]

Actually I hadn't given that much thought. That said, I can't see why a male dog might not be capable of that very same thing?

It's a fairly common behavior among females, not so common among males, who show submission in other ways (like putting their heads on the floor). Nothing, however, is impossible.

 

[airplanedoc]

Better call Cesar