Further insight into submissive urination
Comments (0)Submissive urination is a dog behavior problem that drives people crazy. I’ve written an article about this problem previously, click here to read it. After dealing with this problem more and more, however I have a little more insight into how to fix this behavior problem.
What is submissive urination?
To recap what I wrote in my article, submissive urination is a problem caused by an excess of submission. Your dog should feel submissive toward you. The problem starts, though, when your dog feels overly submissive. This happens when the dog owner communicates in a way with their dog that confuses the dog and causes the dog to go into a mental void where the only thing that makes sense is to roll over and pee.
Now, keep in mind, this urination is not an overt behavior. It is more of a reflex and as such has to be treated in a different way than you would treat other ‘misbehaviors’.
How to not treat submissive urination
A great deal of my latest insight into treating submissive urination deals with how to not go about your training efforts. There are a couple ways that people deal with this behavior that tend to make the problem worse:
Getting angry/punishing/correcting the dog-
Remember, your dog has this problem because you have communicated in a way that is confusing. You may not realize that you have done this but it is important to understand that you have. If you observe dogs communicating amongst themselves it is very rare that one dog will submissively urinate toward another dog. It is only when a dog is very confused and feels overly dominated that they will submissively urinate.
If you punish your dog for submissive urination it will only serve to confuse your dog even more.
Don’t coddle your dog-
Many people act the opposite of angry when their dog has a submissive urination problem. They coddle the dog. They let their dog get away with murder for fear of setting off another round of peeing. This doesn’t work either.
Remember, the solution is all about proper relationship. The proper relationship between you and your dog is not that of servant (you) and master (your dog). You can’t allow your dog to do whatever he or she wants. The proper relationship is you in the fair leadership position. If you are constantly coddling your dog in order to avoid a submissive urination problem you will find that the relationship will still be out of whack and the problem will still continue.
How to fix submissive urination
So if you can’t punish and you can’t coddle, what can you do? The key is to fix the relationship you have with your dog. One of the best ways to do this is to keep your dog on a leash for a while inside the home. A lot of bonding happens through the leash. It will also put you in a position to correct misbehaviors without emotion. Too often dogs start submissively urinating when their owner shouts at them, spanks them, hits them, or chases after them when they catch their dog chewing, jumping, barking, etc. This frightens the dog and sends him into a state where he submissively urinates. If you have a leash on your dog it allows you to catch him in the act of any misbehavior and give him a quick jerk on the leash. If you are fairly correcting your dog for misbehaviors it shouldn’t set off a round of submissive urination.
Also, work on your obedience training. Obedience training is a great way to bond with your dog and clear up any areas of confusion. Don’t do ‘treat training’ as this will just further coddle your dog. Simply be firm but fair and you should be able to fix the relationship in no time. There are still several other tips for treating this problem in my other article previously referenced. Good luck.
Are dog training electric collars torture devices or humane tools?
Comments (0)In my dog training business, CommuniCanine Inc., I meet all sorts of people. Although I meet dog owners from a wide variety of backgrounds there is one underlying factor that unites them all. They all love their dogs and wish to do what is best for them.
As such I am often asked about my stance on dog training electric collars, sometimes called e-collars or remote trainers. Some of my clients are for them, some are indifferent, and others are vehemently against them. I wanted to use this blog post to touch on the truth behind e-collars.
In order to train a dog you need to use proper corrections
There is much debate on the use of corrections for dog training. Some dog trainers are a little nuts and recommend that the firmest you should ever correct a dog is by telling him ‘no’ (pretty silly when you consider dogs don’t understand any word unless you associate an action with it).
Whenever asked about my philosophy on corrections I always reply that my stance is to be ‘firm but fair’. What I mean by that is that I like to use a lot of motivation to get my dog to obey. When it comes to my methods to discourage disobedience, however, I use corrections that are just firm enough to act as a deterrent for misbehavior. Anything firmer than that is not fair and can be classified as abusive. Anything less than that and you wont be able to effectively change behavior for the better.
The same philosophy is used to change human behavior. If the only consequence for you being rude in social settings is a $.05 fine, your behavior is likely to never change. If the consequence, however, is that you no longer get invites to parties and people don’t return your calls, your behavior just may change. That is what I mean by firm but fair, you have to find a level of correction that is just enough, but nothing more.
The use of an electric collar may be the most humane way to give corrections
So I have already established that proper corrections and proper motivation are a necessary tool for molding dog behavior. So what is the most humane way to administer a correction?
Notice in the above heading that I said that using a remote collar may be the most humane way to give a correction. The reason I say that is that in the wrong hands an e-collar is the most in-humane way to train a dog. In the wrong hands this collar is used at high levels and is not used as a tool for teaching, but rather a tool to punish indiscriminately.
In the right hands, however, an electric training collar is the most humane way to give a correction. If used properly the e-collar is used for teaching purposes. I advocate only using this collar on low levels. You would be shocked (pun intended) to know how low the level of stimulation actually is on an e-collar. I always have my clients feel the collar before using it. Most of my clients can’t even feel the collar on the levels I use and their dogs can only barely feel it. In this way the collar acts as a tool for teaching behavior rather than just for punishing.
In order to train like this, however, most people need the aid of a professional trainer that has experience using the collar on low levels. Seek out a good, qualified trainer and you will find that your ability to train humanely and at high levels has no limit.
 |
|
 |
|
        |
|