Question

I need help!!! My puppy is going on 1year old and she just does not seem to get the potty training thing. She also does the submissive urination when people greet her. She has been doing this since the day we picked her up. Do you have any suggestions? We are signing up for the May basic puppy class. She has had puppy training before. She is a really good dog just we have to get this submissive urination and potty training under control. I have heard that there is a place where puppies go to learn to ring a bell to go outside. Please let me know if this is true.

Penelope's Tips

It's time to go back to basics with your puppy and make some changes.

First of all, you will need to get a routine in place, both a feeding schedule and potty schedule. Next you will need to stop giving your puppy free run of the house. Once you get these two things under control you will begin to see improvement. I am going to direct you to my housebreaking page on my website. Go to http://www.poochproblems.com/Housebreaking.html for more detailed information.

As far as the submissive urination is concerned, you probably have a very sensitive puppy and you need to make a few changes. If she urinates whenever you come home you might need to make your homecomings calmer. When you go into the house, just calmly go to her, and take her outside. Don't talk to her or pet her or anything. Just be very calm and matter-of-fact.

Now, if she urinates whenever you approach her, check to be sure that you are not towering over her. If she is very submissive, having you tower over her could be very intimidating for her. Maybe instead of approaching her, you might sit on a chair and let her come to you, don't call her, just let her come on her own. Then you can give her affection without intimidating her. Remember that dogs are very tuned in to your moods and emotions. If you are even a little bit upset about something, she will know this and might think it is because of something she did.

Penelope