Hi I am posting for a friend who got a puppy at 20wks old , ( he is now 26wks) the owner no longer wanted it due to her work hours changing, and having two children.
The puppy is very submissive, and pee pees when ever people come into the house and say hello, he sometimes rushes up to say hello then pees as they stroke him, other times her cowers away from people.
He has problems with toileting in the house also, he does go out and do his business,  he is rewarded with  goodboy and a treat, but still does pee and poo in the house, and now he has taken to pooing, and bringing it into the house in his mouth, (as if to say where's my treat, Ive been a goodboy).
He is very shy and nervous, of people, she does not feel that shouting or telling him bad boy when he does it inside the house will do him any good, anyone one any ideas on how to try and solve this, he is a lasa lapso.
thanks for any suggestions eleanor.

I take it that your friend does not go outside with the puppy to let him know that is where he is to do his business...I would tell your friend to take pup outside each and every time and to go with pup and use a command word like hurry up/be quick/ go pee ect and treat/praise/play once done....In the house I would not allow a pup total free roam unless ur friend can give 100% of the time to watch him. Keep him on a leash and every where they go so does the puppy and once they notice him circling and sniffing say outside go pee and they both go out...A puppy does not understand what is expected of them by just putting them out the door it is thro repition that they learn and it can take a good 6 months to a year to fully house train a puppy.

Do a search on here for house training and u will get alot of info
Just like potty training a child a lot of patients :)

Ealeanor, totally agree with Dollface here - this puppy should go back to basics - treated as a newly acquired 8 week old.  Take him/her out to the garden - and ALWAYS accompanied - on waking, after food, during play, on first signs of sniffing, circling or peculiar tail carriage <LOL>  As soon as he gets it right, lots of praise and a treat too.  Having a particular command word is an ideal method as when the dog grows he'll "perform" on command to suit the household routines ;-)

Certainly your friend is correct in not being harsh with him for accidents indoors - these are the owners' fault for not paying attention, not the puppys!  My pups have always had free run indoors - I just always made sure I kept an eye on them - not always easy but part and parcel of owning a baby that needs to be gently and consistently trained.

She should concentrate more on boosting his confidence to help resolve the submissive piddling - sometimes it is simply excitement coupled with a lack of bladder control but if it is genuinely a nervous reaction she will need to tolerate these accidents while trying to establish what causes his anxiety and resolve his fear issues.

He needs lots of socialising - without pressure - and patience galore.  See if she can find a training class nearby either specifically for puppy socialisation or one that has a lot of small breeds in attendance so as not to overwhelm this youngster.  

Good luck to them both, Teri :-)

Just want to add to the submissive pee when people come over tell them to ignore the puppy totally don't talk to or pet the puppy. Also even when they come home tell them to do the same thing and just take puppy out for a pee....The puppy gets excited so he pee's. My bitch Tiva use to do this when she was a pup and by 6 months she stopped. I found when people or even we came home and petted her she would pee cause she was excited to see us. So we just ignored her and also told company to ignore her also and when they/we were in and things calmed down she would come to visit and thats when she got the attention when everything was calm and not so exciting. Eventually they stop mine did, just takes time and I know hard to ignore a puppy but it does work :)

Hi thanks for your replies, will pass on the info, to my friend, I will  tell her to make sure she goes out all the time, with the puppy, and also that if it has any accidents that she ignores them.
Thanks for the tip on people coming into the house, it seems to be excitement, as well that causes some of the accidents, and yes your right, everyone is , giving the puppy so much attention when they come into the house,  I think the pup as been smacked before, because it cowers, when hands come near it.
regards eleanor

Some dogs don't have to have experienced bad treatment to exhibit this sort of beahviour - for some perceive themselves as naturally so low ranking they offer this sort of behaviour as appeasment to a superior as a natural thing.  Try not to bend over her, pat her on the top of the head or shouldars (instead go for the neck, throat and chest) keep your hand in the dogs view all the time, and if possible, teach the dog to 'shake hands'.  If a dog is taught *how* we humans like them to greet us, they tend not to offer their doggie ways ;)

Thankyou digger, for your reply, will pass on the info, I have three dogs, and you never stop learning.
I have never had the situation that my friend is going through at the moment, so could not advise on what to do,( Barking and lunging at other dogs, I could write a book on that  ;;;;)  I have found that you learn through your mistakes, and I have made many.     thanks again eleanor