Why Does My Dog Pee When Excited?

Peeing when you come home, or when someone greets your dog, is usually excitement urination or submissive urination, not a house-training failure. VCA says both are most common in puppies and young female dogs, and the AKC says submissive urination is usually outgrown by age one. Rule out a medical cause first, though: Humane World for Animals and the AKC both say to start with the vet.

Excitement or submissive? How to tell

• Excitement urination happens when your dog is over-excited, especially during greetings (VCA). Humane World notes that peeing during play or greetings without submissive body language may be excitement urination.
• Submissive urination comes with appeasing body language: ears back, lips pulled back, eyes avoiding yours, cowering or a lowered body (VCA). Humane World lists common triggers such as loud or angry voices, a person approaching or greeting the dog, and noises like sirens, often with crouching, a tucked tail or rolling over.
• Conflict urination happens when a dog shows competing emotions at once (VCA).

Puppies’ bladder muscles are still developing, the AKC explains, and they typically gain control as they mature physically and emotionally. VCA adds that many dogs grow out of it, perhaps by becoming less excitable or gaining urine control with sexual maturity. Humane World notes that submissive urination is more common in young puppies but can happen in adults too. If you’re not sure what your dog’s posture means, the body-language decoder can help.

What helps

1. Keep greetings low-key (AKC). For excitement urination, VCA advises no eye contact, touching or talking until your dog is calm.
2. Let a submissive dog come to you. VCA suggests kneeling instead of standing over your dog, speaking softly, and petting the chest rather than the head.
3. Practice relaxed greetings (VCA) and reward calm (AKC).
4. Offer frequent bathroom breaks (AKC). See how long a puppy can hold its pee.
5. Clean up the odor thoroughly (Humane World).
6. Ask your vet about medication for hard cases. VCA notes that drugs that tighten the bladder sphincter may be added to behavior work, and Humane World suggests asking the vet if fear is extreme.

What not to do

• Don’t scold or punish. Humane World and the AKC say it makes the problem worse, and VCA explains that reprimands make a dog more submissive.
• Don’t use physical punishment of any kind. VCA says all training should be reward-based.

When to call the vet

Start here, especially if the peeing is new or happens outside greetings. The AKC says to rule out urinary tract infections and bladder stones, and that persistent or unusual urination needs a vet. The ASPCA’s list of medical causes of incontinence includes urinary tract infection, a weak sphincter in older dogs, hormone-related problems after spaying, bladder stones, diabetes, kidney disease, Cushing’s disease, neurological problems and abnormalities of the genitals; some medications also cause frequent urination. VCA says a vet may run blood tests, a urinalysis and a urine culture, and sometimes X-rays or an ultrasound. The free vet visit prep sheet helps you note when accidents happen. For everyday accidents, see how to potty train a puppy.