Cant stop the peeing

MColangelo · 11-06-2009, 02:32 PM

I have a 7 month old lab/pitbul terrer mix. Hes really good at not using the bathroom in the house and can even hold it up to 12hrs if everyone is sleeping. When we leave the house, we were locking him in his crate. A crate that is just big enough for him to fit. Yet, he would always pee in it even if it ment he was laying in it. Were trying to trust him more and more each day so they he can be left out with our other dog, so we sometimes just lock him in the bedroom outside the crate. And every time, he pees.

So my question is, is he doing this just because hes mad that we left and he dosent have the freedom to run the house? And how do we break him of this since putting him in his crate dont matter cause he will pee in there too.

TooneyDogs · 11-06-2009, 07:42 PM

At 7 months old he's just getting full control of his bladder. But, it sounds like you're really pushing it with the crating....12 hours at night and then crating again during the day. The pup can only sleep for about 18 hours.

When he's up and active, someone needs to be watching. That's the key to housetraining.....that someone is watching and teaching the pup.

Cracker · 11-06-2009, 07:51 PM

I agree with Tooney. It's too soon for him to be fully housetrained and there is a big difference between sleeping at night where the body is not doing anything and there is no stress (no movement, body functions slow down etc) and being AWAKE and aware.

He needs to be let out during the day and rewarded for going outside and then gradually earn his freedom in the house.

Labsnothers · 11-06-2009, 08:06 PM

I think it could be more stress than anger. A healthy 7 month old should have no trouble going half a day in a crate. Even 7 week olds will go 4-5 hours with few accidents. You could try a grid in the bottom of the crate like we start with. They are available with the crates, but expensive and hard to find. A piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. I am now using a plastic vegetable bin with plenty of holes drilled in the bottom. It helps block off part of the crate for the smaller puppy.

Try a Kong filled with peanut butter and frozen.

If nobody can make it back for a mid day break, see if a neighbor or professional dog walker can. Doggy day care is a great option too.

MColangelo · 11-06-2009, 08:55 PM

No no, he dosent get locked in his crate at night. He sleeps with us in the bed. Heres the thing .... he never pees in the house any more. The ONLY time he does is when we lock him up. And it dosent matter if I let him outside then lock him up and hes only in there for 30 mins ..... he will still pee.

So that is why Im thinking that hes doing it because hes mad. Any other time, he knows to go outside. He knows how to sit by the door and wait or even come up to one of us and let us know. But for some reason, whenever hes locked up, he will pee. No matter how short of time it is.

NeoBodhi · 11-06-2009, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MColangelo

So that is why Im thinking that hes doing it because hes mad. Any other time, he knows to go outside. He knows how to sit by the door and wait or even come up to one of us and let us know. But for some reason, whenever hes locked up, he will pee. No matter how short of time it is.

Most of the people here know much more than I will ever know about dog training, but I can say when I have changed my puppies routine or done anything that could cause stress to the puppy he starts peeing in the house or worse. I don't know that he does it on purpose but it feels that way. Just the other day he looked me straight in face and peed on the floor right in front of me. I think he was mad at me for not paying much attention to him for a couple days. Poor guy didn't know that I was sick and that was the reason I was slacking on the attention, but he let me know he was not happy about that.

Cracker · 11-06-2009, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MColangelo

No no, he dosent get locked in his crate at night. He sleeps with us in the bed. Heres the thing .... he never pees in the house any more. The ONLY time he does is when we lock him up. And it dosent matter if I let him outside then lock him up and hes only in there for 30 mins ..... he will still pee.

So that is why Im thinking that hes doing it because hes mad. Any other time, he knows to go outside. He knows how to sit by the door and wait or even come up to one of us and let us know. But for some reason, whenever hes locked up, he will pee. No matter how short of time it is.

Dogs very rarely IMO do things because they are mad. This sounds like a separation/crate anxiety thing to me. If the only time he is ever crated is when YOU are leaving him alone, it is pretty dang stressful for him..and the STRESS if causing the urination.

Check out some of the other threads on SA. Your dog is likely in a panic when you leave.

MColangelo · 11-06-2009, 10:51 PM

It could very well be separation/anxiety because whenever me or my boyfriend leave to go somewhere and the puppy is locked up, or even if he sees us getting ready to go somewhere, hes gets sad looking. My older one does this too. Both are rescue dogs so I think that has a lot to do with it. They been left before in their lives so they think were going to leave them too.

But for the puppy, hes had pretty much the same routine since he was brought into our home. And actually, my boyfriend and myself are on two different shifts now so other than and hour here and an hour there, there is always someone home. But even for that hour alone, he pees.

I dont really crate him any more, just leave him locked in the bedroom since he hasnt been chewing anything. I chose not to crate him because it would mean I would be giving him a bath every day cleaning the pee off him.

So if this is separation/anxiety .... how do I get it to stop?

TooneyDogs · 11-07-2009, 11:04 AM

I don't see an SA issue here. It sounds more like a crate issue and incomplete housetraining.

Go back to Housetraining 101. Take him out every hour; restrict the water intake; praise and reward for pottying in the right spot.

Continue with the crate training....making the crate a comfortable place to be. Go back to playing the crate games; praise for quiet and confidence. Move the crate so that it's in sight if necessary.

Willowy · 11-07-2009, 11:57 PM

He might also have been conditioned to believe that crate = place to pee. I put Penny in the basement when she was a puppy (no crate), and now she's fully conditioned to poop on concrete floors. She'll go even if she doesn't really have to go. Conditioning is powerful and easy to do unintentionally.