sorry more advice re: springer pup

[typoqueen]

told you id be back for more :)

springer spaniel almost 10 months old, been with us approx. 5 weeks, vet check re UTI all clear, however we have a little piddler on our hands and not sure what to do. He only does that excited wee, and tends to squirt for want of a better word when my Son comes in, but when ever he is told NO, Sit or BED he piddles and he piddles a lot, it doesn't have to be in a stern dominating or command voice, it can be a simple regular voice or even in a soppy tone, but he will just stand ears back and piddle, if you shout no to the piddling he piddles all the more, My husband only has to stand up in the same room as the dog and the dog piddles and even worse its on carpet, I can not keep him in the kitchen as that's where my 2 cats have taken up residence, slowly getting used to each other though, this pup was bought up in various residences with the same person (sons ex girlfriend) long story on another post. He seems settled, he is healthy, he is walked 3 times a day sometimes 4 for at least 2 hours every day, regular trips out in the garden, played with by all, loves a cuddle and is calm, loving and gentle with my DD 7, but not sure what all this piddling is all about? any ideas?

He's doing it through fear, submission or excitement. Definitely don't admonish or say no during an episode. Dont approach him face on. Also avoid eye contact. Look into confidence building techniques. You may find a belly band useful? Some improve, some don't

sorry can I ask what a "belly band" is, ok no saying no when piddling I get it, and will have a look at confidence building, thank you :) xx

I agree it sounds like submissive urination combined with fear. What's the history? Sounds like he might have issues with men.... You need to take it slowly but try reinforcing good experiences with the types of people he is scared of eg giving treats etc .

Yes, any reprimand or even 'bed!' will make it worse, unfortunately. The best thing is to ignore episodes.

The best way to avoid them is to alter the situations surrounding when it occurs. Your son should ignore him completely when he comes in and not even look at him. Your dh should do the same when he stands up and maybe consider getting up slowly.

Confidence building should help. Unfortunately it hasn't done a great deal for my boy but it is very successful with others and I'd imagine, with a pup as yours is.

A belly band is a boy dog nappy! It will save your floors at least and may also help reduce incidents.

A thundershirt might also be worth looking into. They provide comfort through reassurance and can help nervy dogs to feel more secure

We got our springer at 10 months, a bitch.

She nervous weed regularly the first few months we had her.

We tried a multi pronged approach.

Firstly we didnt allow anyone to crowd her. We let her come to visitors in her own time which really helped. We moved slowly and talked gently. We didnt comment at all when she weed either negatively or positively, just quietly cleaned up behind her with minimal fuss.

We reminded our son to walk and not run or jump about, or shout.

We have had her 18 months now.

Whilst she remains a bit of a nervous nelly the wee ing has totally stopped.

We dont need to make lots of concessions now for her, and just crack on as normal. I keep an eye on her for signs of stress-big blue eyes lip licking and body language, but this doesnt happen very often.

There is one person in particular who she weed with whenever they visited, up until a few months ago-so it is a work in progress, she doesnt wee now but does do the big blue eye thing-we let her approach in her own time and fingers crossed no accidents!

Encourage your son and ds to sit quietly and give treats when your dog approaches, it will take time and work but hopefully you will see an improvement as he settles in and you all adjust to each other.

Also, as pp poster said- when your ds and dh come into a room dont say hello to the dog or fuss, just wait for him to approach when he is ready

Here are my two springers :)

awww frownyface they are adorable :) thank you everyone yet again, some good sound advice which I will take on board and install immediately.
I just want my puppy to feel happy and safe and know that no one is going to hurt him, we did a bit of work with him today, saying in a calm cheery voice "Bed" only because he doesn't know bed and we gave him fuss and treats when on his bed and it seems to be woking already (when he feels like it that is lol) pic of Marshall :)