My two-year old female cocker spaniel has always urinated when she gets excited, but it seems to be getting worse. We had company this weekend, and she went crazy leaving puddles on the floor, the furniture, and the guests! Could she have a bladder infection, or is this just one of those "cocker" traits?
Your dog has what sounds like excitement urination. Young dogs that are not completely developed neuromuscularly and that have excitable personalities often suffer from this. Generally, any exciting stimulus can trigger excitement urination. Typically, affected dogs outgrow this disorder.
Your cocker spaniel is two years old, so it is unlikely that she will outgrow this problem. Keys to controlling this disorder include the following:
1) Take her outside frequently so that she can empty her bladder often and thus keep it empty.
2) Try to teach her to relax and ignore excitable situations. The goal is to reduce the excitability in the situations that would otherwise prompt the excitement urination.
3) Once you are sure that she is housebroken and has control of her urination, then you can tell her verbally "NO," and not interact or allow interaction with her when she urinates inappropriately.
4) Exuberant dogs such as yours often need more exercise on a daily basis.
Be patient with her as I see this in a lot of cocker spaniels! Definitely get her outside more and have her urinate before coming into the house and before company comes over. Also, have your guests and others not get her too excited when they first see her and to not pay a lot of attention to her until she is calmed down.
It is a good idea to have a veterinarian evaluate a urine sample to see if she has a urinary tract infection. Your veterinarian will examine her for other problems as well. Do not allow her to urinate before going to the veterinarian's office; the doctor will obtain a properly collected sample in the office.
11/19/03
