my 1 yr old bully x uranates when u pat her and she acts shy some times and i don't know whats wrong. her dad did the same . so i was wondering weather she'll grow out of it

Hi,
This sounds like submissive urination - does she do it when you greet her, or at other times too? What are the exact circumstances?

yes mainly when you greet her or go to pat her

she is probably very submissive, is she regularly active?? One exercise you can try is to have her sit behind you with her paws on your shoulders. Don't do this more than once a day, but it can help. Have you had her since she was very young?? What is her history? Good luck, HTH.
Rudy and Mum

Well that's one I've never heard before

What on earth does that 'exercise' do?

Hi,
If it is indeed submissive urination (which it certainly sounds like) she will grow out of it as her confidence grows. Make sure you never scold her for it - that will only make her worse. Try to greet her out of doors so that puddles don't matter. When you go to pat her make sure you speak to her in a light,happy voice first - and smile!! - so that she knows you're not cross. This will help her relax and boost her confidence. Good luck.
:)

If you are patting the top of her head this is a very sensetive place for a dog - your hand has to come across the eyes and restricts the vision above - a better place to fuss a dog - and I advise all children who want to talk to my dogs to do this - is to go under the chin and down the chest and up behind the ears.
Another good excercise for dogs who are prone to submissive weeing (and this maybe an inherited trait too - so almost impossible to train or grow out of) is to ask for a 'sit' and only fuss them when they are sitting straight and not to one side (a dog sitting squarely will find it almost impossible to wee). Training gently to 'shake hands' can help confidence as well as putting the dog in a position it can't wee in too.......

Also make sure your body language isn't intimidating your dog. Dogs use their bodys to tell other dogs things - and they read things into our body movements that may not be there - things like making eye to eye contact with a dog can feel very threatening to a dog, and standing above them and bending over them can too. So get down low (without bending over the dog if you can) sit on the floor, or hunker down and welcome the dog to come between your knees for a fuss...

HTH

Lol, like those replies to my exercise....This exercise teaches the dog to be slightly more dominant, but if over practiced the dog can become over-dominant. By standing over you, the are momentarily dominant over you...

Thanks for the explanation, Rudy's Mum.

Wouldn't it be better to encourage confidence (whilst still being subordinate) than dominance?
Just my opinion.
:)

Hi,

I agree with Rudy and Mum, increasing her dominance will help her feel more confident, but as she says, be careful not to do it too much. :)

Is she a rescue or have you had her from a baby?

There are some Bach Flower remedies that might help:-

Aspen - this is especially recomended for submissive urinators
Impatiens - this is for anxious and nervous animals
Mimulus - For those with sensitive personalities, who feel fearful

Good luck with her. :)

manda
X

I was going to ask the same question as Manda....

Is she a rescue? I had a rescue bitch like this, and it took time for her to gain confidence and stop doing it.
I think the only things I did differently with her, was to always greet her outside, and never tell her off for doing it. She eventually gained her confidence...just through being around my other dogs, and hubby and I being as sensitive with her as possible.

Also, whoever it was that said about getting the dog to sit (properly) before greeting it....I never knew it was more or less impossible for a dog to urinate in this position....but it makes sense, I remember I always tried to get my bitch to sit, but she sat in a funny...sort of lop sided position, and then urinated.

It's true....you learn something every day!!! :)

Good luck

Lisa