I have two articles below, one on Submissive urination and the other on Clicker training your dog. They actually go hand and hand. I love clicker training since ShiShi's and Cockers are food motivated and catch on very quickly with the reward based training. For house training tips please see my crate training page. There is also a short video at the bottom of the page, on puppy proofing and dealing with puppy behaviors. You can also scroll through other videos that deal with chewing, and puppy behaviors.

Submissive and Excitement Urination

Submissive Urination

Submissive urination occurs when a dog feels threatened. It may occur when he’s being punished or verbally scolded, or when he’s approached by someone he perceives to be threatening to him. It’s important to remember that this response is based on the dog’s perception of a threat, not the person’s actual intention. Submissive urination may resolve as your dog gains confidence, but you can help build his confidence by teaching him commands and rewarding him for obeying. You should also gradually expose him to new people and new situations and try to make sure all of his new experiences are positive and happy.

Your dog may be submissively urinating if:

  •  Urination occurs when he’s being scolded.

  •  Urination occurs when he’s being greeted.

  •  Urination occurs when someone approaches him.

  •  He is a somewhat shy, anxious or timid dog.

  •  He has a history of rough treatment or punishment after the fact.

  •  The urination is accompanied by submissive postures, such as crouching or rolling over to expose his belly.

What to do if your dog has a submissive urination problem:

  •  Take your dog to the vet to rule out medical reasons for the behavior.

  •  Keep greetings low key.

  • Encourage and reward confident postures from him.

  •  Give him an alternative to behaving submissively. For example, if he knows a few commands, have him sit, or shake, as you approach, and reward him for obeying.

  • Avoid approaching him with postures that he reads as dominant, for example:

  • Avoid direct eye contact. Look at his back or tail instead.

  • Get down on his level by bending at the knees rather than leaning over from the waist and ask others to approach him the same way.

  • Pet him under the chin rather than on top of the head.

  • As you approach, present the side of your body to him, rather than your full front, and avert your gaze.

  • Don’t punish or scold him. This will only make the problem worse.

  • Until the problem resolves, you might want to protect your carpet by placing a plastic drop cloth or an absorbent material in the entryway where accidents are most likely to occur.

Excitement Urination

Excitement urination occurs most often during greetings and playtime and is not accompanied by submissive posturing. Excitement urination usually resolves on its own as a dog matures, as long as it isn’t made worse by punishment or inadvertent reinforcement.

Your dog may have an excitement urination problem if:  

  • Urination occurs when your dog is excited; for example, during greetings or during playtime.

  • Your dog is less than 1 year old.

What to do if your dog has an excitement urination problem:

  • Keep greetings low key.

  •  Don’t punish or scold him.

  •  To avoid accidents, play and greet outdoors until the problem is resolved.

  •  Take your dog to the veterinarian to rule out medical reasons for the behavior.

  •  Until the problem resolves, you might want to protect your carpet by placing a plastic drop cloth or absorbent material in the entryway where accidents are most likely to happen.

  •  Ignore him until he’s calm.

Train for the Sit, Stay, commands, it's easy and FUN!!

Training can be fun and beneficial to your puppy!! Remember spaniels are sporting dogs, bred to work with humans, so it is inherent in their personality to please their owners and work with you. Training your puppy is a great way to bond and know that you have a well behaved spaniel.

Sit & Stay  are the two most common commands to teach your dog. Why train them to sit and stay? Because you NEED to be the pack leader and these two commands will let your dog know you are in control.

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The goal is for your dog to be able to Sit/Stay for a few minutes even in the presence of other people or dogs. Here are some quick pointers.

You will need a clicker and some training treats. Keep the treats in very small bite sized pieces since you will be giving a lot of them in the early training period and don't want to over treat and make your pup get a tummy ache. So SMALL kibble sized treats only!

  1. While your dog is standing entice him to move his head up and slightly backward with a food lure.
  2. As his bottom touches the floor, click and treat.
  3. Continue repeating this until your dog understands that when your hand is over his head you want him to Sit.
  4. Now try it without the lure. When his bottom touches the ground, click and treat.
  5. Put the treat on a table a distance away from where you are working with your dog. When his bottom touches the ground, click and run over to the table with your dog to give him a treat.
  6. Practice the above with distractions or in a different location. Be patient you might have to go all the way back to step one.
  7. Bring new variables into the practice session, such as: people greeting in a park, on the street, at the front door, in a store, with children or other dogs.
  8. The duration training should take place in a distraction free environment. After you have build up the time your dog will stay in the Sit/Stay position for at least thirty to forty seconds you are ready to practice in a real life situation. To increase the amount of time your dog will Stay, gradually add seconds in between the time you give the command and when you click and treat.

While at practice without distractions you might be able to get your dog to give you more than thirty seconds it would be unfair to expect him to perform the same in a real life situation. So act quickly to praise your dog for what he does right, prevent the bad behavior and set your dog up to succeed.