# Peeing when greeting visitors? help!



## mycutiepatooties (May 10, 2010)

Our havanese, Bentley, is 18 mos. old and he's been neuterd (at 7.5 mos.) if that matters. I am wondering if you can help me with an ongoing issue we have. 

Whenever someone comes over to visit at our home, Bentley gets all excited. He "sprinkles" a little trail of pee drops and then he realizes that he peed so he starts sniffing it. I do not think he's peeing out of fear but because he's excited. We have tried not talking to him and petting him right away...the other day my dad came over to drop something off and Bentley was barking and running in circles at the door and my dad just came in and didn't even acknowledge Bentley and he "sprinkled". The vet suggested that we distract his mind by having guests do some basic training commands with him upon entering using treats that we leave at the door. This is a struggle because he typically has already seen the person and got all excited and peed his trail of drips...but we have not been 100% commited to doing this technique either.

He doesn't do this with just certain people. It's everyone really. When our family gets home from running errands etc., we take him potty immediately (usually 1 person goes in to get Bentley and the rest of us wait outside or unload the car) and that is not a time he "sprinkles".It is worst when we are home and someone comes over unexpectedly. That includes my husband getting home from work, the kids coming in the house from the school bus, and guests coming over. I try to take him out to potty prior to a guest coming over, but even then he will sometimes still have pee dribbles. It's very embarrasing to have to greet our guest and then clean up pee. Once Bentley got his drips on the piano teachers shoe! 

Is this normal? He is completely potty trained to go outdoors and does a great job with it. He has been ringing a bell to go out since he was a puppy at the breeders house. He has regular BM's 2-3 times a day. He sleeps through the night...10pm to 7:45 am.

What should I do?


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

The visitors need to ignore your pup until he is settled down, in the meantime, you could hold your pup. Do not let the visitors touch or speak to your pup until he it totally calmed down while you are still holding your pup. When calmed down, you can put your pup down. 

Then let your pup explore the visitors, do not let visitors go after the pup...he will only get excited or scared and start peeing again.

Hope this helps.


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## mycutiepatooties (May 10, 2010)

HavaneseSoon said:


> The visitors need to ignore your pup until he is settled down, in the meantime, you could hold your pup. Do not let the visitors touch or speak to your pup until he it totally calmed down while you are still holding your pup. When calmed down, you can put your pup down.
> 
> Then let your pup explore the visitors, do not let visitors go after the pup...he will only get excited or scared and start peeing again.
> 
> Hope this helps.


I've tried this many times. He struggles and growls and carries on like a maniac and I end up getting scratched up and my guest is scared to death. No one else has any ideas??? I thought I would get pages of comments.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

If he's scratching you up when you hold him, I'd put him in his crate or ex-pen when people come in. Don't let anyone talk to him or make eye contact and keep him there until he settles down. Once the visitors are settled and he's calm, THEN let him out, but remind your guests STILL not to pay any attention to him. Maybe if he doesn't get excited, he won't pee.


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## StarrLhasa (Jun 6, 2010)

Have you read or heard about Thundershirts? The are intended to help calm dogs down in a way similar to swaddling a baby. Here is a link to their website for information: http://www.thundershirt.com/?gclid=CMrI_cn9u6oCFVAaQgod-SHemQ

If you decide to get one for Bentley, you might consider shopping at the Havanese Rescue shopping site, http://www.havtohavit.com/index.php...d=1147&zenid=75488222f82a959845bed89c64d62b5f

The price is the same [$38] and the profits go to Havanese Rescue.

Another option which does not solve the dog's problem of excitement peeing but keeps your floors clean is a belly band. If Bentley is only dripping and not emptying his bladder, you can use a light or maxi pad to line the belly band. If he is emptying his bladder, you can use a Poise incontinence pad to control the liquid.

Belly bands can be purchased on Amazon and eBay, but there are some wonderful people on etsy.com who make their own and sell them. The people I have dealt with on etsy have been really helpful.

http://www.etsy.com/search_results....ch_submit=&search_type=category&category=pets

Buster needed to use a Poise pad with his belly bands in the house because he was having "accidents" and my DH was unhappy about it. Because of the thickness of the pad, I asked for advice from the seller as the sizing. She suggested a size and said that I could try it on him with the pad and if it did not fit I could return it for the next larger size.

I bought several so that I would always have clean belly bands while the others were in the laundry. There are lots of colors and patterns to choose from as well as styles. I found that I needed a bright color instead of a darker one so I could see it and remove it before taking him outside to pee. Sometimes I would forget, which was not a good thing. 

Some of the belly bands have a waterproof layer in them, which is fine for dribblers. You cannot dry them in a hot dryer, just on delicate, and some of them need to be line-dried.


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