My dog wees with joy – what can I do?

Many dog owners know this scenario. The dog is greeted and, out of sheer joy and excitement, leaves behind a little puddle. Otherwise, however, the animal is completely house-trained. In conversations I often hear the worry that the dog must surely be incontinent, even when it is still a puppy. As a rule, I can quickly put minds at ease here. When dogs wee out of joy and excitement, this usually has nothing at all to do with medical incontinence. I would like to help you interpret this behaviour of your dog correctly.

What exactly is incontinence

When a dog can no longer hold in urine and faeces, there are many different reasons for it. An age-related decline of the nervous system and a weakened bladder closure may be considered here. Neutering, hormonal changes or an injury to the nerve pathways caused by an operation can also be causes. Illnesses such as spondylosis, a slipped disc or a simple bladder infection may likewise be responsible for genuine incontinence.

In the case of an injury, spondylosis or surgical procedures, important nerve pathways can be damaged. As a result, the signal transmission of the nerve impulses to the sphincter muscle may no longer function properly. Incontinence occurs. However, all of this has nothing to do with weeing out of joy, which we shall look at below.

Why does the dog wee out of joy or excitement

The common assumption that the dog, out of sheer joy, simply forgets to keep its bladder closed is usually not correct. In reality, the dog wees out of a deep insecurity. Many owners will now say that their dog is by no means insecure. Yet the biological background explains this behaviour quite clearly.

The biological principle of wee protection

When puppies and young dogs meet an older member of their species, there is first an intensive round of sniffing to get acquainted. Very often you can observe that puppies begin to urinate a little. Why is that? Instinctively, the puppy knows that the older dog immediately recognises from the smell of the urine that it is dealing with a young animal. In most cases, the puppy is then left in peace. This is the so-called wee protection.

At this moment the puppy is still very insecure and does not know how else to help itself. This insecurity and the associated weeing normally pass on their own over time. However, this only applies if it is not unconsciously trained into the dog through constant repetition and mistaken reinforcement.

The greeting situation in everyday life

Let us imagine the following situation. The owner comes home and greets the dog with effusive joy. The voice and gestures are exuberant. The dog, too, can barely keep its tail under control out of enthusiasm. Pure mutual joy, one might think. In reality the dog may well be happy, but insecurity often prevails. The dog wonders what the loud voice and the waving hands mean. It instinctively uses wee protection in order to caringly avert a possible danger. So it is the biological protective reflex, which results from the dog's momentary insecurity.

What you can do about this behaviour

Please do not greet the dog directly when you come home; instead, ignore it completely at first. Later you can let it come to you of its own accord once it has calmed down. Please also do not wipe up the urine straight away in the dog's presence. This is not hygienic, admittedly, but it is necessary for training success, since otherwise the dog thinks that you immediately busy yourself intensively with it again, and the behaviour is thus unconsciously reinforced.

• Avoiding effusive greeting rituals at the front door
• Plenty of patience and consistent ignoring when excitement is too great
• Keeping calm and exerting no pressure whatsoever on the dog
• Expert training and clear signals instead of misplaced sympathy

This article serves purely to provide information and by no means replaces professional advice from a veterinary practice. If a pet suffers from organic illnesses, expert advice should always be sought before taking any further steps.