Doggie Incontinence - Around one me only.

crazyjeremy · 08-17-2006, 01:35 AM

So Dottie The Dog is wonderfully cute, relatively obedient and extremely loyal. Growing up I never had indoor animals so it took a while for me to get used to a dog living in my inlaws home. But I soon LOVED playing with Dottie, teaching her tricks or bringing out the magic lazer. As soon as she knew I wielded the lazer I was instantly elevated to a doggie-demi-god status.

Now Dottie tries even harder for my attention and affection. Everyone else in the house loves her dearly, constantly and all day long. But I give praise, affection and snacks to her only when she is well behaved/obedient. Sometimes I think she LIKES earning her affection as she tries so hard to get it from me.

Now the problem. When anyone has been away for more than a few hours and then returns home, she whines excitedly in joy, letting everyone know she missed them terribly. She will fuss on for several minutes, grabbing anything close by (toys, socks, gloves, etc) to encourage them to give her a good rub down and petting. But when I come home, she whines so much she piddles on the floor and I have to go clean it up.

Did I create this reverential fear? Am I the reason she pees with excitement when I come home? She doesn't do it when anyone else comes home. I love animals, don't get me wrong... but I just wasn't used to indoor animals. Now I think that this fact is what caused Dottie to revert back to puppyhood incontinence.

Cheetah · 08-17-2006, 01:58 AM

When you walk through the door and she runs to you excitedly, what's the first thing you do? This is an act of submission or extreme excitement (or both) and can be triggered by certain things when somebody comes home.

crazyjeremy · 08-17-2006, 02:12 AM

Unlike almost everyone else in the house, I simply do not respond immediately. She used to jump up on me... and sometimes will still try to do that. But generally she knows that's not how to get my attention.

I love well trained animals, who still have their own personalities. Dottie definately has a wonderful personality, but the family does not give her consistant training. Each individual treats her different when it comes to tricks, obedience training, begging for table scraps, etc. I try very hard to be very consistant with the "good behavior gets good rewards" philosophy. Maybe by dropping to the ground she views it as being a good dog?