Hi, anyone have any suggestions to stop my almost 5 month old berner from happy peeing. He is otherwise housebroken, and we haven't been to the vet in a few weeks to have anything removed from him, so all in all things are looking great. He doesn't happy pee for us (most of the time), but anytime we have someone visit, all "pee" breaks loose. HELP!!!

Wow, that one's kinda tough. I have heard that more with females than males. Have you had him checked for a urinary tract infection? We use alot of positive treat reinforcement when training but I am not sure how you could apply that for this situation. I will check with my trainer and see if she has any ideas. Katie

Thanks. He had surgery for sock removal at about 12 weeks, and subsequently was neutered as we didn't want to subject him to any more anesthesia, but he was happy peeing before that (he also wasn't housebroken at that time, so it wasn't quite as annoying). He is really just getting socialized now, as we had to wait for vaccinations and stitch removal before really letting him meet a lot of people. Any ideas would be great. Marlene

This is a tough one as the critical window for socializing a puppy is between 8-16 weeks of age. This window closes hard at this time and you never get quite the same opportunity back and this is why I always stress so strongly to ensure full socialization occurs.

At this point, all you can do is focus on minimizing the "excitement" so he does not get beyond himself, and at the same time get him more interaction with dogs and humans so that he responds better to such excitement.

Part 1 means that when people enter the home, ensure everyone and thing is quiet, calm and entering slowly.....make no eye contact with him initially until seated (or initially, outside in case he goes) and de-sensitize him to the people. If he stays calms, give him a treat. Ensure he is "empty" before guests come in.

Part II means having someone come in every day to help desensitize him, and ensure he is getting out every day with lots of physical and mental stimulation. If he is actively running, playing with others....getting lots of pets and attention from people while out and playing certain mental games, this should help calm and relax him.

Hope that helps!
Rachel