Some individual dogs do it more than others. Puppies do it to let older dogs know they are puppies (from the smell), so they get more leeway from the adult dogs.

Some dogs do it when stressed or scared. How old is this dog?

Your friend's advice sounds good.

Actually you should not kneel down to approach the dog. If you want to correctly meet a dog, you should ignore it, no eye contact. Just let the dog come to you on its own terms and soon enough the peeing should stop. Submissive peeing is the aussies way of saying Dont eat me, I feel threatened by you. This dog should be trained with positive reinforcement ONLY and should be sociallized as soon as possible and on a regular basis. Good luck

Here's my little Aussie greeter sprinkler and his new Hoover Wet Dry dustbuster which has been a godsend LOL
He's 18 wks now. Best $29 I ever spent for that little vacuum

First of all I want to say submissive urination is a toughie. Some dogs and their owners may never fully get it under control.

I tend to agree with Mazer, ignore and let the dog come to you. Which I know can be hard it certain situations... ie. you need to leash the dog for potty break, sometime in the next 15 minutes not the next two hours....

He is a cutie! Great picture.

My college roommate's dog used to do that. I had less patience back then, so I used to just open the door and let the dog run outside. We'd have our greeting outside, she'd pee, then we'd go inside.

Please don't heckle me - I know this method doesn't really address the problem, but my roommate's dog did grow out of it after a few months. And it saved me from having to clean up a puddle every time I came home.

Gina,My son's Aussie is 18mos. How long does it usually take them to out grow this behavior?

depends on the dog.

Here's another idea (even though it's not your dog, you can pass this along to your son): when you greet the dog, don't bend down or kneel down, but instead, tell the dog to sit. When she sits, praise her vocally. Then bend down and tell her "paw" if she know that command.

Have your husband and other son do the same. Hopefully soon, she will learn that upon greeting, she should sit and then give her paw. This will give her a way of being submissive without peeing. Replacing one behavior with another.

This type of behavior usually takes on one of two forms. Excitement urination is the result of infant muscles that simply cannot hold their urine when the pup gets excited/scared etc. The vast majority of dogs simply outgrow this problem as they become stronger and gain control of their muscles. freezetag gave an example. Pkguy's little cutie will in all likelihood grow out of his sprinkler stage.

What you are describing (especially since the dog does NOT display the behavior with you) falls into a different category than a puppy simply lacking neuromuscular control. My opinion might change if the owner son has the same problem. Or is it only occurring with your husband and other son? At 18 months, the dog "should" have sufficient control over her bladder, but some dogs can't control their bladders relaibly until they are 2 - 2.5 years old. Has she been spayed? Spay incontinence isn't particularly common, but should be ruled out if this is a problem with everyone she meets.

Anyway, I don't think that is what you are describing. SO....

Dogs have several behaviors designed to reduce challenges/violence between them. A submissive dog will display some or all of these behaviors to display its lower status and to prevent an attack. By rolling over and urinating, the dog is merely acknowledging the other dog's superiority.

Mazer is correct - it's a "please don't eat me" signal. I don't get the impression that you have done so, but do not make the mistake of trying to correct or scold the dog after submissive urination. Submissive urination is not the same as a housetraining accident - one where the dog is simply confused as to where it can and cannot eliminate. To her, this behavior is perfectly acceptable and REQUIRED because she (rightly or wrongly) has perceived a threat and she wants to make perfectly clear that she doesn't have a dominant bone in her body. If you try to reassure her (oh, poor puppy! It's OK! Nobody's going to hurt you"), she will think you are praising her for urinating and will urinate even more. If you scold her or become distressed about the puddle, she will feel an even greater need to reassure you and apologize by urinating. Either reassurance or scolding will only make submissive urination worse.

Your husband and other son will want to examine their body language. Dogs assume that direct eye contact, even a quick glance, is a challenge. Coming from above, indicating that another dog (your husband) is taller (bigger, stronger), heightens this reaction. A person towering over the top of her is guaranteed to cause a submissive gesture.

Another signal that canines perceive as a challenge is bending over or touching the dog's head, neck or shoulders. Dominant dogs often display their control by placing their neck, or a paw over another dog's neck or shoulders. When a human pats a dog on the head, an overly submissive dog perceives it as a display of dominance, and again the dog to roll over and urinate to say "you're the boss! You're the boss!"

Avoid those situations that instantly trigger urination. Avoid eye contact, do not approach the dog head-on and then bend over in greeting, do not touch the dog, do not speak to the dog and in general ignore the dog for the first few minutes. If submissive displays do not occur, try some VERY calm words of greeting - just a simple "hey there, pup" and walk away. If there's no peeing, you can GRADUALLY add physical affection. To indicate that you are not a threat, approach from the side and stroke the throat or chin from below. After the physical affection, if she still has not eliminated , CALMLY praise her and give a small treat.

As stated by gina, you also want to work on boosting the dog's confidence by teaching your dog a few basic obedience exercises. A dog that can earn praise by obeying a simple routine of "sit and shake" will develop confidence and a confident dog will not feel the need to urinate to show submission.

Good luck!

Pkguy, the picture of your fur sprinkler is just precious. I note some torn tissue to the side. HA!

How about trying the treat method. Have hubby greet with a treat. Only have one person at a time do this.

Hubby comes in and immediately offers a treat. I would have hubby do this at least five times with about 15 minutes between each time. Make this a "lip smacking" treat. Then I would have your son do the same thing. Just do it one person at a time. If your concerned about the piddle, start with doing it outside on a deck or front porch.

The next time I would repeat the process but maybe only do it 4 times per person. What your trying to achieve is the dog associates the individual with something good and gets his mind off being scared. Each day I would drop the number of times till your down to a treat each time they come in. Then you'll probably have to keep it up for a couple of weeks. But you should be able to drop the treats to a doggy biscuit.

Dogs seem to be more scared of men. Like all animals the pup is sensing that there is a bigger, stronger male in his presence.

However, this suggestion may be that you will be handing out treats to your guests before they are allowed in the door.

Good luck in trying all the suggestions. Hopefully your pup will outgrow this problem.

Thank you for all the wonderful advice! I will pass it on to my son. Puppy is not with us now- but when she comes again I will try out your tips.