[elliebilly]

Hi, I hope someone can help as I really don't know what to do. We have two staffordshire Bull Terriers male and female both 1 year old. Billy has been castrated which on the time line of this first happening. It doesn't happen everytime we pat him but occasionally he randomly pees, of course the 1st time it happened we did tell him off, now we have chosen to ignore the bad behaviour as its so obvious he's not doing it intentionally. We don't hit him, he has no need to be frightened of us so we cannot understand why he's doing it? He is due to go to the vets in the next ciouple f weeks for annual jabs so will get him physically checked, but any ideas folks???

[Todd]

Are you sure the peeing has to do with nerves or could it have something to do with either dominance or marking? If it has to do with nerves here are some tips I found online for you;

The first thing to do is recognize the signs that they're about to pee. They probably think that they're in trouble, they have their tail tucked or wagging in a down position, and they may roll over on their back as you walk closer to them. They are trying to show that they aren't dominant or a threat in any way. This would be a good time to back off, or offer them a treat so they know that you aren't angry enough to hit or harm them.

When they do pee while showing those signs, don't yell, don't do anything negative, just pick them up easily and place them outside. Leave them be for a few minutes, then go out with them and try to socialize with them, rub their belly or toss the ball. Just try to get them used to your presence a bit better.

While indoors, just go slowly with them at first, offer praise and treats. Pick them up and down a couple of times if they are small dogs. If they show the signs that they may pee again, call them outside and give them a treat and more praise.

Nervous peeing is the ultimate form of non-dominant, submissive behavior, so becoming angry and yelling after they do pee while they're scared or confused will only make them more inclined to do so in the future. If they are also peeing in the house while your back is turned consider buying a carying case for when they are in the house and you can't keep a direct eye on them, or doggy diapers also work wonders. Be sure to let them out often, especially if they are young, and take off the diaper when they go out or they will get used to peeing in it. There are other ways of house training them besides rubbing their nose in the bad deed.

[elliebilly]

hi, thanks for the reply. I'm almost convinced this has nothing to do with marking or dominence and is a nervous peeing thing! Why he is nervous is beyond me, we've had him from 6 wks and he's 1 now. He's a big white softie, the only thing that he has won the battle of dominence is sleeping on our bed ! We no longer allow him up on the sofa and we put him in the crate rather than punish if something goes wrong ! He is so loved and its just beyond us why'd he would start this, we have, as suggested, ignore th epeeing now, put him outside and parise and reward when he pees outside , so we'll persevere and time will tell, like i said in my op, he is due for a vets visit so we'll see if she has any medical reason

[cigwyllt]

The Jack Russell I had as a teenager was always doing this. The solution we found was not to look at him directly, just to call him and be as non threatening as possible. He was the ultimate submissive dog, crawling and "smiling", I loved him to bits.

It could be that since he has been done he has lost the hormones that gave him the "oomph" not to be so submissive.

[elliebilly]

hi, thanks for your reply I think you may have it in a nut shell. This is a Staffy we are talking about, he's so soft to the point of ridiculous, we have 3 kids and he's a love machine, he's such a people pleaser and loves cuddles, i'll try the no eye contact thing as that's a good suggestion, thanks once again xx