My little Stafford, Bam, is now just over 5 months old. He's absolutely fantastic in every repsect, but he's really quite submissive when meeting new people. He'll roll over onto his back and urinate when meeting any new person - whether they be man, woman or child! *Is* this even submission, or is it excitement? Once he knows the person, he never pees, but he'll still roll over at their feet for a tummy rub. I spoke to the breeder, and he said that this was fairly common with some young Staffords, and that once he hits puberty the peeing would probably stop.

I'm socialising all I can, and he goes to puppy classes and has a fantastic time. I'm hoping that the more people he meets the more confident he'll become. I was just wondering if anyone had a similar experience, and if the pup grew out of it?

This probably isn't what you want to hear but I would say - enjoy your submissive pup!! :) I have a 7mo old Dane pup and she was/is the complete opposite - ultra confident and boisterous with everyone/dog she meets, which can be a real pain. I took her to puppy classes too and out a lot to socialise and she was never fazed by anything but I did wish that she could be more "submissive" when she met people as a confident, in-your-face, boisterous Great Dane puppy can be very scary to most people!!
I think it is something that your pup will grow out of - in our puppy classes, I saw lots of timid puppies really come out of themselves after a few weeks. As long as she isn't cringing or something, I think it's OK. You're doing great with all the socialisation, etc.
Hsin-Yi

Thanks for the reply, Hsin-Yi! I've been reading your Dane posts with interest, and she sounds lovely - I should imagine her size really exacerbates her puppy boisterousness, though! The amusing thing is that even my 5mo cuddly Stafford can be quite scary to some people because of his breed! "Nope, he won't bite you, but he might pee on your shoes!" :D

Bam was really quite shy at the start of our puppy classes, but 5 weeks in he's much more confident and eager to see everyone. Hopefully continued socialisation will stop the rolling and peeing. People LOVE it when he rolls at their feet ("Oh! Lookit the cute puppy!"), but I'm trying to get them not to reinforce him, because trying to do sit-stays in class is a pain in the backside when he turns into jelly at the instructors feet. ;)

I would say definitely excitement :)
They sometimes leave a little spinkle on your shoes when greeting you ;) but usually grow out of it -although Sam my previous Staffy never :)
Staffies adore people and this is why pup gets so excited and loves his tummy tickles

What is his body language ...If your pup is wiggling his bum and wagging his tail then its more likely to be excitement.If he has his tail tucked away with his ears flat back and his head down avoiding the persons 'eye' then I would say its submissive.More likely to be excitement with a staffy though.
Archer

AAh my candy who's 6 months rolls on her back but has never weed, whereas buddy barks with excitement at strangers and demands to be stroked.If people walk past either of them they look surprised cos most people stop to coo over them.

the weeing is perfectly normal and will stop in time. Our bitch used to do it when anyone was at the front door or if she met an older dog in the park.

yes my 6 month older BC does this.  When he goes to classes he is fine until someone talks to him or touchs him and then he just wees.  It has got better the more people we meet and he is better when we are out with our other dog as he is a lot braver then.  For a while even my OH couldnt talk to him without weeing.  We had to just make OH ignore him whilst stroking him and keep rewarding and gradually that worked. 

My male Staffie still wees with excitement, especially if it's someone new making an extra fuss of him.
And he's coming up 16 months. He only rolls on his back for a belly rub though.
Like Lel says, it's usually the shoes that get it. :D
Michelle.

Thanks Michelle - it's great to hear from other Staffie owners, and I'm glad to hear that Bam isn't abnormal. ;) It's definitely more pronounced with new people making a fuss of him - if he knows the person then he won't usually wee.

Ah, yes, this is it exactly - he's fine until someone approaches him or touches him, and then he wiggles at their feet and wees. He does seem to be getting better with all the socialisation he's getting. He doesn't do it to any of us *except* my father-in-law, although he's stopped the weeing, and just flops at his feet. Mind you, he adores my father-in-law, and often crawls up into his lap to snooze...

Thanks for the reply! I'm glad to hear that he will probably grow out of it - it's just that all the doggy people I meet on my walks are always exclaiming that he's really submissive.

Hee - Bam is always SO suprised when people don't stop to coo at him. He looks at me to say: "Hey, what's wrong with them?!"

The funny thing is that he'll usually only wee for the first time or two of meeting someone, and then it's just a wiggly rub-my-belly roll. He rarely barks, too - so there go all my secret plans to teach him to 'speak'.

He's just wigglywigglywaggy - he runs up to people all excited and then flops at their feet and urinates when they pet him. I initially imagined it was submission as he was rather a timid puppy when we first got him (and fellow dog walkers will constantly exclaim: "Wow, isn't he submissive!?"), but he's really coming out of his shell thanks to some hearty socialisation. It's just rather embarrassing when he wees on random delivery men, and when he turns into jelly at the instructor's feet during puppy classes. ;)

Thanks, Lel! He started off being really quite shy for a Stafford, which is why I thought it was submission, but he's been coming out of his shell since his vaccs were complete and we could take him into the big wide world. He really does love people, though - typical Stafford. He's quite bemused when people walk past him on our walks without saying hello.

I'm trying to get him to sit to greet people, but it's hard when they're constantly reinforcing him for squirming at their feet. People just can't seem to resist a cute puppy belly, and they think I'm a meanie when I tell them to wait 'till he stands up or sits. ;)

One of my Staffs (I've got 3) is very submissive - to everyone.  His mum and his litter brother (10 mths old) never behave like this and it caused me endless anxiety as I thought I had really done something wrong with him, but people reassured me that this is very common behaviour in Staffs.  Also, he is the lowest in the pecking order and is always submitting to his mum and brother, so this just reinforces this to him so he does it with everyone.  He even submits to the cats whenever they appear in the room, and boy do them get confused when Beetle flings himself on the floor infront of them whenever they walk into the room! :-)