Q:  My puppy, Juliet, is four months old and doing pretty well with housetraining -- we haven't had an accident in the house in a couple of weeks, except when my husband comes home from work and says hi to her.  She pees every single time, even if she's just come in from a walk. The other day some friends of ours came over and Juliet peed in front of them too. What is going on?

A. Aha! Your little Juliet has a classic case of submissive urination, excitement urination, or both. I know those little puddles are annoying to clean up, but the good news is that this is one problem you don't have to do much about.

It's common for puppies to pee when they get very excited and also when they greet an adult dog or person. Partly, your young puppy may not yet have complete control over her urinary sphincter muscle, so she "loses it" a bit when life gets thrilling. Peeing is also a deferential behavior in dogs; one of my dogs has a doggy friend who rolls on her back and releases a drop or two of urine every time she greets him after a long separation. Deference is probably a factor in your puppy's behavior, too.

If your puppy is a bit shyer than average, some anxiety might also be in play. I'd suspect this particularly if your husband or the visitors bent over her to greet her, or if any of these people are tall or big.

The good news is that puppies almost always grow out of this behavior by adolescence. You can help the process along by keeping greetings quiet and low-key. Rather than bend over to greet your puppy, sit on a chair or on the floor and let her approach you. If she pees, absolutely positively do not scold her -- in fact, the best response is to ignore the behavior. Reprimands are notorious for making a submissive pee-er pee again to try to appease you. Oops, not the desired result.

A little trick to keep your floors and rugs clean when your puppy urinates submissively or excitedly: bring her outside to greet people. If she pees on the front walk, no big deal. Or you can crate your puppy in a quiet place when a guest is  expected or your husband's due home. Let her out when she's no longer excited, and the person has settled in. Then remember -- calm interactions, no looming. And oh, yes: use an enzymatic cleanser on any spots from prior episodes.

Before you know it, your family will be reminiscing about the old days, back when Juliet peed for every visitor.