About 6 months ago I rescued an 18 month old male Lab from a family that didn't want him. The dog came from an Amish breeder in Indiana known for supplying puppies to Chicago area pet shops. This family bought him from a pet shop when he was 12 weeks old. As he began to get big the family had two small children and apparently he became too much for them so they chained him in the backyard.

When I got him 6 months ago he was wild, had never been neutered, socialized with other dogs, people or on a leash. He is afraid of everything and everyone. Our walks are torture for him. He immediately urinates all over if anyone approaches him or tries to pet him. He also continues to mark in the house. I have crate trained him and put him through a very structured and thorough housebreaking routine. I started from the beginning as if he were a puppy. I also immediately had him neutered and checked by my vet and he is in perfect health. He has been through obedience training and he knows and responds to all his commands yet he keeps doing the submissive urination and lifitng his leg in the house as if he's out in the park. There's no warning that he'll lift his leg at all, just walks by something and let's go.

I've had trainers and a behaviorist evaluate him and one said that he had a genetic anxiety disorder.

My vet has now put him on anti-anxiety meds. He's almost 2 now and when inside, he can never be out of my sight unless he's in his crate. When outside he is terrified if anyone cames near him.

He is a great dog but seems unable to relate to his environment.

Can these behaviors be changed ?

Any thoughts??

My Trusty did the same thing until he was about 2-1/2. Even in old age he always seemed to have weak bladder. Comes with the territory. Have you tried cleaning and removing the smell from where he has in the past dribbled? Remember that Labs are children until at least age 7 and then seem to grow old over night. You can try and be sure to get him outside more offten, and if he is sensitive, be sure to scold him for doing wrong.

I have been able to stop submissive wetting by my Wheaten pup by asking people to ignore her when they first arrive so that the 'greeting ceremony' does not happen.

Another technique that apparently works is to find a different 'greeting ceremony' like holding out his paw but this may be hard to train him to do at his age.

Your dog has gotten off to a very poor start. There is a limit to how much of poor breeding and early socialization can be undone. You already are crating him which helps build confidence. So does obedience training. He may have been trained, but have you been? The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete (http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/) For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss (http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm)

Play tug of war with the dog and lose. However at the end of the game, take the rope or toy and put it up, less the dog becomes confused about who is top dog. Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

Another thing that helps with the submissive wetting is to take him out and have him urinate just before you expect guests. I never had a submissive wetter, but some of my puppies urinated when excited. Keeping them drained worked better.

You also need to work at strengthening your bond with him. I can give you some things meant for younger dogs. Using what you can with an older, full grown dog will help.

''Elevation for small puppies: Sit on the floor and gently put your hands around your pup's middle, below his front legs, and lift him up. He is facing you. Hold him for 15 seconds. Repeat until he no longer struggles. If he is past 10-12 weeks, lift his front feet off the ground, but don't pick him up.

Cradling for small puppies: Hold your puppy gently on his back, as you would cradle a small baby. If he struggles, hold him firmly until he quiets for 10-15 seconds. With larger pups, you can do this as your sit on the floor, with your pup between your legs.

Quiet lying down: Place your pup on the floor on his side, with all 4 legs pointing away from you. Use your hands on his neck/shoulder area and middle, to hold him in this position. When he is quiet, praise him. Lengthen the time that you keep him quietly in this position. When he accepts this position well, handle his paws and muzzle, while keeping him quiet.''

The quotes mean this isn't my original work. It is copied from my Puppy Raising Manual. I have long used these or minor variations of them, and they are very effective. You may want to give him a belly rub while he is on his back too. Helps bonding. There is a big difference between him rolling over and demanding a belly rub, and you choosing a time to roll him over and rub his belly. The latter cements your place as pack leader.

Much of a dog's personality is determined by genetics and socialization before it is 12 WEEKS old. It will continue to develop and mature until it is 3 years old. It will then be fairly stable into old age. I don't think there is much support the idea of seeing changes at 2 1/2 or 7 years. Dogs are individuals, you can't expect your to be like somebody else's.

It is tough controlling your emotions when your dog is misbehaving. He will sense your stress and interrupt it as due to what he fears confirming that it is a problem. Also do not work at comforting him when he is afraid. He will interrupt it as rewarding him for showing fear. Be as positive as you can. If he is shying away from something, go right up to it, pat it, and talk to it in a happy voice. Arrange to have people he doesn't know give him treats. That usually works well with highly food motivated Labs.

As for punishing him, It is extremely important that you only do it if you catch him in the act. Punishing him when he doesn't know why will only confuse him and undo what your are trying to do with the bonding exercises. If you catch him in the act of urinating, give him a sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'', and take him out. I really question if somebody that failed to mention only when caught in the act should be giving dog advice. Anybody can wonder into the dog forum and post advice whether they have much background with dogs or not. The average dog owner has no clue how little they know.

Read through the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/information-articles-our-dogs-expert-labman-53153.html#post251802 Overly structured housebreaking doesn't work all that well. Using a command, praise, and learning to read the dog are much more important than structure or schedules in housebreaking.

With some work and good technique, you should be able to improve him. No matter what you do, do not except any great improvement very quickly.