Excitement urination occurs most often during greetings and playtime and isn’t accompanied by submissive postures as in submissive urination.

Excitement urination is common in young dogs and puppies that don’t yet have complete control over their bladders. It usually resolves on its own as a dog matures. In some cases, however, the problem can persist if the dog is frequently punished or if the dog’s behaviour is inadvertently reinforced – such as by petting or talking to your dog in a soothing or coddling tone of voice after he urinates when excited.

Signs of Excitement Urination

• He urinates when excited, such as during greetings or playtime.
• He urinates when excited and is less than one year old.

Recommendations

• Take your dog to the veterinarian to rule out medical reasons for the behaviour.
• To avoid accidents, play outdoors until the problem is resolved.
• Take frequent walks to make sure your dog’s bladder stays as empty as possible.
• Make sure your dog gets plenty of vigorous exercise.
• Don’t punish or scold him for urinating when he’s excited.
• Keep greetings low-key.  No high-pitched baby talk, hand-clapping, hugging, or rough-housing.
• When he’s excited, ignore him until he’s calm.