If your pup tends to urinate when you enter the room or gets overly excited when someone new arrives, you are not alone! Excitement urination is a common issue among puppies that occurs when situations are socially stimulating or even during active play.

The American Kennel Club offers the following tips if this happens to your canine companion.

Let your pup take the lead. Let your puppy approach first rather than having anyone reach out to your puppy to pet them. This can help avoid overexcitement or even intimidation, which could lead to urination.

Let visitors settle in. When family and friends come to visit, instead of exposing your pup to them right away, let them settle in. It is best to have them ignore your dog for a few minutes or until they have calmed down. Once they are sitting calmly, they can try and pet them.

Plenty of socialization. It is important to give your dog as many opportunities for socialization as possible. That way, he can be exposed to all sorts of places, people and things.

Don’t use punishment. Be sure to never punish your puppy for excitement urinating. This will only make the problem worse. Instead, use praise and rewards to encourage greetings without urination.

Minimize excitement. If a lot of the incidents occur when you arrive home and greet your puppy, try being serene and not making a fuss over your pup. Try giving them a few minutes to settle down before properly greeting him.

Teach an alternative behavior. Teaching an alternative behavior helps distract and prevent your puppy from urinating. If your dog loves belly rubs, teach them to roll over for pets, sit, or lie down. All these trick positions will prevent him from urinating.

For more information on responsible dog ownership, visit www.akc.org.

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