We,have a Shihtzu, a rescued 2 year old. Second owner claims found in the sreet, given to her mom,who died when dog was two. Kids & wife love dog, when he sees me home from work, he comes running tail wagging. If I touch him he pees. If I am sitting on the couch dog will lay at my,feet until I motion him to jump on my lap. He then pees while I pet him. He is not afraid of me, never been hit but if this coninues I have to get him out of the house .Dog has doggy door. I can't live with this. Please help.

Your new addition has a submissive urination problem. Is he neutered? If not, please have this done. It may help the problem and will lower any incidents of his possibly marking his territory further around the house, along with running away if he smells a female in heat.

Here is some information taken from Pet information - dog information - cat information - Canada's pet information center for dogs cats and humans that might help you to understand what exactly is going on. Right now he is still very confused. This is now his third home and he doesn't know what is happening and if he is going to be staying with you. His confidence is completely shot and it will just take time before he feels that your home is his forever home. Even though he is new to the household, he definitely recognizes that you are the leader of your "pack", which is a good thing:

"Submissive urination in dogs - Submissive urination is not a house training problem

Dogs are genetically programmed, to live in a hierarchical group. Some dogs are more dominant, and other dogs are less dominant or more submissive. Normally dogs will accept their owners as the leaders of the pack. They are in essence, accepting them as the top dogs in the house. Extremely submissive dogs, dogs with self esteem issues or puppies, will often urinate when they get excited. This often happens when their owners return home after having gone out, when they are told it is time for a walk, when guests or people they know show up at the house, and even sometimes when they are petted. What they are doing in essence, is sending out the message "You are my superior, I am not a threat". They do this through urination, because a dog's urine contains information about its status in the group.

It is extremely important not to yell at a dog, punish, or discipline a dog for submissive urination. By yelling at the dog , all you are doing is reinforcing the dogs feeling of submissiveness. This may cause the dog to urinate even more.

The key to curing a dog's submissive urination problem is to remove the excitement that causes it, and by building up a dog's confidence, since confident dogs don't urinate when they get excited. When you come home, do not greet your dog with excitement. In fact, it's better if you ignore your dog completely for the first few minutes. Nonchalantly, let your dog out to urinate or have another family member take the dog out. It is very important not to get your dog excited. Don't make direct eye contact with him since direct eye contact is a sign of dominance, and don't talk to him, or talk to him in a low monotone voice. When the dog urinates, lavish excessive amounts of praise upon him. The goal here, is for the dog to get excited about urination outdoors.

Obedience training is a GREAT way to build up a dog's confidence and it also provides socialization with other dogs which is good for confidence building. Playing fetch or having the dog do something constructive for which it receives praise is another way."

After he urinates outside and you are confident his bladder is empty and he is no longer excited, you can then pet him. The article talks about obedience training and it may be a good idea to look into taking a basic obedience class with him. It is a great bonding experience and will most definitely help him with his confidence level. Ask your vet for recommendations. As far as the couch issues, for now, you should just let him lie at your feet when you are sitting on the couch. Don't pick him up. In time, when he becomes adjusted to your household and completely stops the submissive urination when he greets you, it means he is comfortable and knows that you are aren't "threatened" by him. At that time, you can start testing the waters, no pun intended (okay, I lied, yes it was), and see how he responds to your picking him up when you are relaxing on the couch. You may want to walk him first so that his bladder is empty, and then when you get back inside, you can pick him up and place him on your lap.

By the way, thank you for opening up your heart and adopting a dog rather than purchasing one. If this is his only issue you have gotten a great bargain! All you need is patience and the willingness to understand what is going on and work with him on it. If you have any other questions or if you need more detail, please post back.

RubyPitbull has found some good material on the subject. Much of it agrees with the answer I have been giving.

Many dogs eventually outgrow it, but you can reduce it by building the dog's confidence up. Start with obedience training. 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 As you praise the dog for following your commands, it will build its confidence.

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.

Finally, make sure it has a den to live in. If you are not using a crate, buy one. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

And yes, I too am happy you are giving him a home and would like to know he has been neutered. Post back with anything else, and Ruby and I will do all we can to help.