[melissajaye]

I have a 2 month old puppy who is struggling with crate training; particularly crate peeing. The crate is only big enough for him to turn around in and lay down. He doesn't have an issue with peeing in his crate and laying in it. He hasn't pooped in the crate, only peeing. During the day he is with me in whichever room I am in and whines or stands near the back door to go potty. He has never had an accident inside the house, other than in his crate. During the night I get up every 2-3 hours to let him out. It is only when I am not home that he pees in his crate. I do not leave him alone in the house for very long and I make sure to let him outside and make sure he pees prior to putting him in the crate. I have washed everything in his crate with an enzymatic cleaner several times. Should I remove the bed and just place a towel or rug inside?

Does anyone have suggestions as to how I can stop him from peeing in his crate? or is he just too young for this concept?

 

[Lillith]

Try a bare crate. The pee might soak in to the bed, so it's not a big deal for him. Bare crate makes it a little harder to get away from the pee. Also, try feeding him his meals in the crate. Most dogs don't like soiling the area that they eat in.

 

[melissajaye]

I will try removing the bed. I do feed him in his crate.

 

[NorCalFMD]

I am sure there are many who disagree with me, but I do not believe in crating dogs except for travel or to keep them out from underfoot if a service technician comes over or something similar.

So how do you get your dog used the crate, so they aren't terrified to be put in there when traveling or having a stranger come over? It's got to be practice.

My dog hates her crate, but that seems to be feature of earlier trauma and we're working on it. Removing all soft bedding from the box did wonders for my friend's dog with a similar potty problem.

 

[3GSD4IPO]

I am not saying a dog may not like being crated on the rare occasion, but that is just what it would be for me--a rare occasion. It would not happen more than a couple of times per year on average for me. I just do not believe in crating a dog if there is ANY other alternative including hiring a sitter for the rare occasion one cannot be at home. I would not crate a child. I see no compelling argument to crate a dog.

I had a little dog once many, many years ago who became destructive in the house if left alone. She suffered from separation anxiety. In my youthful innocence, I thought crating her was the solution. I could not have been more wrong. I crated her for perhaps 4-5 hours a day for 4 days a week. Does not sound excessive, does it? Well, it only made her anxiety worse, much, much worse. I tried every other possible solution, but I was never able to ease her suffering at being left alone. What I learnt from the experience was that crating her only made things much worse.

A couple of years after I adopted her, we moved into a large home with a very large, fenced yard, and that was where I put her if I had to be gone from home. She still suffered from anxiety, but in the yard she was able to run up and down as much as she wanted, and I think it was less stressful for her than the crate. I will never again crate another dog aside from the limited circumstances I mentioned. I feel if you have to crate a dog for 8, 9, 10, or more hours a day for five or more days a week because you need to be at work or wherever, then you should not have a dog. Dogs need two hours a day of pretty vigorous exercise, and they need their freedom to move about the rest of the time. Remember, they are pack animals, and pack animals are forever on the move. Just my opinion for whatever it is worth.

One experience with a dog that had (possibly) true separation anxiety should not trash an entire training system (use of crates). True separation anxiety is actually a medical condition that needs to be addressed with medication that helps the dog. Severe cases can lead to euthanization.

I do not like a dog to be in a crate for 10 hours a day.. so I have large outdoor and indoor kennels (5'X10' and 10'X10'). However, my dogs are crated at night with the exception of the House dog. The net result of this is I have dogs that are very very house broken and have learned from a young age that sometimes they must be alone and be OK with that (alone in the crate).

In the case of a dog that is having the issue of peeing in the crate, removing the bedding so the feel wet etc. may be the trick. Sort of like the difference between potty training a toddler using cloth diapers as opposed to pampers where they never feel a bit wet!

As to comparing a child being crated to a dog being crated.. there is a large difference (tho parents most certainly DO crate their children in play pens!). Dogs are not children.