New puppy - newly housebroken except for in crate .. help..

Amalena · 09-27-2006, 09:37 PM

My husband and I were delighted to get our new black lab/Australian Shepard puppy at 8 weeks old from a nonprofit no kill shelter... We have worked with her and played with her a constantly and she is a happy loving playful puppy. I am happy to say she (EMMA) is pretty much housebroken at 3.5 months.

Emma is in her kennel at night to sleep and during the day while we are at work. We have worked to make it a positive retreat for her not a punishment. For a while she was holding it all day and not going "potty" in the crate, but 2 weeks ago she started making it part of her daily routine while we were gone. She does not go "potty" at night, just during the day. (Her Kennel is in our bedroom)

I bring her outside several times every morning and right before I leave she always goes "potty" outside before I leave. I recently quit giving her toys in her Kennel while we were gone during the day as they end up covered in dog droppings so they would go right to the trash.

First I thought she needed more time outside so I made sure to give her multiple opportunities in the morning, then I thought she was bored so I put new toys and treats in her kennel in the mornings to keep her occupied, I tried leaving the radio on... Nothing seems to be helping, I know she can hold it as she used to and this is just in the last couple weeks. She has been to the vet every couple weeks and is in perfect health.

Everyone tells me to make sure her area in the kennel is small enough just for her and it is. We come in after work and she is sitting or even playing in the mess she just made.

I am starting to wonder if is anxiety about being left alone. The only time she has an "accident" outside of the crate is if I leave her line of sight for a moment. (run to the bathroom or out to the garage) The few times it has happened she was not asking to go outside or she had just been outside prior to me leaving her alone for a minute or two.

I love her and we have bonded wonderfully. My husband is getting discouraged since he gets home 2 hours before me everyday and ends up bathing her, washing her kennel and the carpet around it for over an hour every night.

I can't think of what else I can do for her to help her understand she needs to hold it during the day like she was doing previously. She is in puppy classes and doing wonderful and is excited about learning everything we show her...

I just can't figure out how to help her out during the day.

Thanks for taking the time to read i

alundy · 09-28-2006, 08:14 AM

hmmmm... that's a tough one. Maybe she is one of those dogs that just doesn't care very much about going potty in her 'den'. You could try feeding her dinner in there for the next few weeks - not while you are out but while you're home, feed her in there instead of in the kitchen. This will reinforce the idea that it is her den & special place, not for going potty.

Aside from that, paying a friend or local dog walker to let her out once a day might help while her control gets better. If you think it is anxiety about being left that is the problem, try some exercises with crating. Crate her for 10 mintues, leave, then come back (as long as she is not barking/whining). Repeat and gradually increase the time. Pick a really awesome food that she ONLY gets when she goes in the crate - like liver or something. And don't make a big scene over letting her out of the crate - just casually let her out and go about your business. This should downplay in her mind the big deal about the crate. Also try crating her once in a while when you are home - after a good play session, just take her special treat, put her in the crate with it, and make sure she sees you are still home. Let her out after 20 minutes or so.

Good luck!

Amalena · 09-28-2006, 09:59 AM

I was having my sister visit her a couple times a week the first couple weeks we had her but once she initially stopped messing up her crate and my sister got busy, she stopped coming over....

I will see if my sister can do that again if she isn't too busy. I was thinking after I wrote this about trying putting her in there while we were home more for short periods of time. She is in there about 20 mins in the morning while i am in the shower and occassionally she messes up her crate then too.

I will try feeding her dinner in the crate. Hopefully that helps.

Thanks!

blackgavotte · 09-30-2006, 05:02 PM

'when you really look at it, aren't we expecting too much of babies, of 3.5 mos. old, larger breed puppies, to be cooped up in a crate all day long ?? Put yourself in her place. A puppy's bladder and bowels are more active, also think of the frustration and boredom this child is going through every day of the week. Please, at the very least, get someone to come and take her out at the half way mark. another option is, can you make an enclosure for her, if not outside, where she could possibly be stolen or make too much noise for the neighbours, maybe in a separate room, or basement? When she gets older she will be able to hold more, but just think what we expect of these poor puppies. Its so unnatural and though it suits our lifestyle it does not always make for fair animal husbandry. Good luck, I know you love her, and are trying your best...She is still very young, but you sure don't want to reverse train her, which can often happen when puppies are crated too long and too early, they actually learn to be dirty in the crates.

Cbaker · 10-05-2006, 11:57 AM

I would try sticking the kenel in the bathroom open, and leave her there. See if she goes still in the crate or uses the bathroom outside. If she goes outside puppy pads might be a good option. Urine usualy makes it there, but fecal matter I never had to much luck with.

Amalena · 10-08-2006, 11:10 PM

The problem was that she was holding it all day. We had gotten to that point at 3 months, then she started not holding it so we were trying to figure out what changed. We moved her kennel to several different locations for during the day and I am happy to report she is back to her normal schedule of holding it all day.

I think what happened is over a long holiday/vacation weekend she got use to us being home 24/7... Once we moved her kennel back downstairs where we spend most of our time, she was fine again (rarely having issues during the day). I think she feels more comfortable in our main area during the day without us. YIPPEE!

Thank you