Chihuahua: Submissive Peeing or Marking??

[flutterby]

Hi. My boyfriend brought me a chihuahua puppy home. He's about 6 1/2 months old and isn't neutered. He does mark, but I'm having a problem with something else but almost along that subject. He paws at my legs to pick him up and when I go to lift him up, he "pees" on my legs. He doesn't lift his leg, but as I pick him up, he pees on me like he's marking. I don't know if he's scared or if neutering will fix that problem. I couldn't imagine that he's been marking long because he will occasionally squat too. I don't think he's overly excited. I was thinking more along the scared/submissive line, because when I do pick him up, he'll almost curl into a half circle and then pee. It's like he wants me to pick him up, but after I get ahold of him, he scrunches and pees. Anyone have any advice?

[k9Cracker]

I think that it is submissive peeing. My dog does the same thing. Neutering will not fix the problem. The only way to avoid it is to ignore your dog for about 5 min. untill you can think he can control himself, and even then he may not be able to. My dog is fine if I ignore her for a little bit.
I know there are some websites about it, but I don't know what they are. Sry! I will try to look around for you. :D

[DiggityDogs]

It definietly sounds submissive. I would do as k9cracker says- but to be a little more specific, since you see a pattern to this behavior it's a lot easier. If the only time he does it is when he scratches your leg and you pick him up, then don't pick him up (at least for a while) when he scratches your leg. Dogs pee as a sign of submission, saying 'you're the boss' in the dog world, the alpha dog would be appeased by this, and the lower ranking dog would feel as though he's done his job. The problem with this behavior is you can't correct him by saying no, or anything else because it WILL make the problem worse. He will think 'uh oh, I've made the boss mad, maybe I should pee more to appease her!' If you try to console him and say, 'it's ok, don't be scared!' He'll think he's being praised and that he's doing the right thing and continue the behavior. People often make this mistake because they think dogs pee when they're scared, not submissive. Dogs will sometimes pee when they're scared, which is another story. So, what you should do is anytime he comes up and scratches on your leg to be picked up, if you lean over to get him and you can see that he's going into that submissive posture, (head turned sideways, elbows bent and leaning down, exposing part of the belly, or any combination of these) stand up abruptly and walk away. Then, he starts to think, "oh my, my behavior caused her to go away!' he doesn't want that, he wants to be held. Try picking him up when he's not looking, like if he's eating a treat or playing with a toy, so that he gets picked up sometimes without going through the peeing thing. I would also get him neutered, ESPECIALLY if he's starting to mark. It may not solve your problem, but it's wise to go ahead and neuter anyhow. Good luck!