What to do about peeing in crate

[maureenc]

OK - I'm totally in love with this little pup, however he has not read the memo that dogs don't like to pee where they sleep...

He is 3 months old now, so should be holding it 3-4 hours right? He doesn't even hold it one hour - I take him out to potty every hour on the hour and still it's not good.

I take him out to potty (he does everything on command now which is great) put him in the crate, set a kitchen timer for 1 hour, go do my shower or whatever, and when I come back (sometimes even before the hour is up) he has peed and is covered in it. yuck

Tried making the crate smaller so he just has room to lie down and turn around, and removed all bedding - still pees. At least he has stopped pooping in there, thank God.

He gets about 2-3 baths a day and this is getting really exhausting - baths, loads and loads of laundry, cleaning the crate, cleaning me... We get up with him every 3 hours but half the time he has already peed.

Somebody please give me some hope here... How do people who have busy schedules do this???

[BanaerEskies]

Where is the water bowl?  Control the water.  Quit cleaning so fast...let him be miserable for 20 minutes. 

3 or 4 bathes a day?!   bathe him once a week. 

In the end, he is still a baby...12 weeks old!  yes, he should hold it, but he doesn't, so have patience. Not all pups follow the rules. 

Biggest mistake is to make this a HUGE issue and thus a hot button that will keep on being an issue.  Relax and he will get it when he is ready.

[Artic Fox]

oh - this is so interesting to read! My little boy will be here in about 2 weeks! I am excited and nervous since all of my dogs have come to me as adults. So I'm with you on this.

OK - I'm totally in love with this little pup, however he has not read the memo that dogs don't like to pee where they sleep...

He is 3 months old now, so should be holding it 3-4 hours right? He doesn't even hold it one hour - I take him out to potty every hour on the hour and still it's not good.

I take him out to potty (he does everything on command now which is great) put him in the crate, set a kitchen timer for 1 hour, go do my shower or whatever, and when I come back (sometimes even before the hour is up) he has peed and is covered in it. yuck

Tried making the crate smaller so he just has room to lie down and turn around, and removed all bedding - still pees. At least he has stopped pooping in there, thank God.

He gets about 2-3 baths a day and this is getting really exhausting - baths, loads and loads of laundry, cleaning the crate, cleaning me... We get up with him every 3 hours but half the time he has already peed.

Somebody please give me some hope here... How do people who have busy schedules do this???

[Hana]

Have you tried taking him out every half hour, then maybe you can determine how long he can hold his pee.    Then you can increase the time in little increments.

We adopted Hana when she was 4 months old and she hadn't mastered potty training yet (we certainly didn't expect her to be trained yet).  I think 4 months was still pretty young, and your little guy is even younger.  

It does get very frustrating, but it will get better, as many and most of us can attest to.  It does seem like it will take forever when you are potty training him, but in reality it goes by very fast.  Hana was finally trained at 8 months old.  But she blessed us with 9 years of her life.  4 months of frustration was nothing.

Oh, and about the theory about how dogs don't pee where they sleep.  I can say from experience with Hana that it's a myth.  Hana as a pup peed where she slept.  Not fun, but that was our reality.

Oh yeah.  I agree with you.  Just remove the bedding for now, until he has more control of his bladder.

One other thing is maybe he has a urinary tract infection. 

[snowballsmom]

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but.....
at such a young age, a pup doesnt recognize that they need to go, or are going, let alone to move, etc.
holding it a few hours comes with practice. and, the 'pee where you sleep' myth is true sometimes and not true others. when i had the foster babies this summer, they escaped the kitchen and went on a tour of distruction one day i was at work, and they were immediately crated for my 8-9 hour work days. i would come home to maybe 2-3 accidents per week (for 2 11 wk old pups, not bad). however, i knew they'd probably not hold it that long so i gave them extra big crates for that reason. neither of my two own dogs ever pottied in their sleeping crates. hang in there. most everyone here has survived it. you will too

[maureenc]

Thanks soooo much for the replies everybody, I really appreciate it...

Where is the water bowl?  Control the water.  Quit cleaning so fast...let him be miserable for 20 minutes. 

3 or 4 bathes a day?!   bathe him once a week. 

Is it ok to only give him water with meals? I was wondering about that. I worry about his kidneys if he's dehydrated.

I cut off water at 6:00 after dinner, and then he's in the crate at 10:00 and no food/water until breakfast at 6:00 - and still he pees in the crate... I was worrying that it might hurt him to go so long without water but we are desperate...

Water bowl is out all day long though - maybe that is the problem.

About baths - I thought if you don't wash the pee smell off them they will become accustomed to it and never get housebroken? So I've been very meticulous about cleaning him up and cleaning his crate - I do let him howl for the cleaning crew for a half hour or a little more though.

Is it ok to leave him with pee all over him for a week? (Would kind of interfere with cuddling - ha ha)

[maureenc]

the 'pee where you sleep' myth is true sometimes and not true others.

I guess that's what I'm finding out - my last pup was very very clean - I was so smug because he was housebroken in a week with the crate. 2 dogs before that came as young adults - it was really easy.

I'm thinking that I'm just going to baby wipe him off, wipe the crate with natures miracle and call it good. And snuggle a little less... ha ha

[BanaerEskies]

Offer water on a schedule...after play, with meals, after nap, once an hour, work to figure it out.   Pups have been known to "tank up" when it is always available, cuz they can!

Jesse's sister Zoe, also used to pee in her crate because she KNEW someone would get her out to clean the crate.

[snowballsmom]

i potty trained the fosters in the summer. a pee soaked puppy got to go for a swim.   i have to say, i have to disagree with nancy and clean off a smelly puppy. i dont want a giant smelly ball of pee-smell running around my house. i would definately let him fester a bit, though.

the only way to control output, is to control input. and some dogs will drink till they 'asplode!!! i have essentially blocked out both of my dogs' puppyhoods; but again, the fosters, at 11#, would DRAIN a 3C dish EACH if i would let them. and once they drank, they'd pee. and pee. and pee. and pee. i'm talking, 6-8 times in an hour. anatomy: a dog that small, does not have room for a "tank" that big!

i potty trained them in wire crates with removeable bottom trays. much easier to slide out and hose off as opposed to cleaning out plastic crates daily.

so control input, hourly, or whatever, and time it so you can take him out accordingly. ie, water at 9 after a play session is ok if you are going to take him out at 930, 10, and 11 before bed. but he is way to young for open access to a water bowl.

ps- snowball was trained in a couple, three, weeks too. it's a real wake up when you get one that isnt so easy!!!

[maureenc]

Jesse's sister Zoe, also used to pee in her crate because she KNEW someone would get her out to clean the crate.

I've really been wondering about that! He is sooooo smart!

He has learned to fake a pee to get the treat. And he pees as little as possible on command, and wants the treat - conserving pee for the next treat - ha ha I have to make him pee several times before we go in.

He has also figured out how to open the sliding closet door where his treats are kept. (fortunately up on a shelf)

He has the most wonderful temperament though - we are both totally in love with him. He is going to be a really great dog for us.

Thanks again for all the advice - we'll keep you updated on the pee situation here

[eskienoel]

Oh, the myth of not peeing where they sleep. How I banged my head about that with Nia.

Our sweet little girl is the love of our lives but sweet as she is, she did not get potty training until she was almost seven or eight months old. In the crate or out made no difference. Sometimes she went into the crate specifically to pee. 

Here are the things that helped for us:

First, tell your vet what is going on. Odds are, puppy is totally healthy, but in our case, Nia had a little bacterial issue in her lady parts and got several UTIs before her first heat that complicated things.

Talk to your vet about how much water he needs. Nia would (and sometimes still will) drink until the water was gone and then she would pee and pee and pee, sometimes right where she was standing. We ruled out any health issues, then limited her water to what he said (I forget now and and it would be different for your pup anyway, depending on weight and age) and increased it slowly from there, giving her access more and more each week and as her bladder grew. We also always gave the bulk of the water with meals.

Make sure the crate does not in any way smell like piddle. We cleaned with Nature's Miracle and then, on a tip from our breeder,  used toothpaste (minty fresh) to clean her crate.

Praise like an insane person when the potty happens outside. As someone on the board once said, if your neighbors don't think you are nuts, you aren't doing it right.

And finally, remember that each dog is different. Our first Eskie, Obie, potty trained by four months and only had maybe 10 accidents total. Once I stopped comparing Obie to Nia, and kind of came to terms that there were going to be a LOT of accidents, and a lot of pee to clean up, I felt much better.

Good Luck!

[Yukon]

Sounds like you already got great advice on what to do!

I totally agree -- limit his water intake.  He very likely doesn't need as much water as you think. Personally, I would not offer it every hour, because the more often you offer it, the more he will need to pee. Eskienoel, that is a great idea to ask the vet how much water is necessary. With Kiska, our breeders taught us to offer water for a certain "count" and on a regular schedule, so she was always taking in about the same amount on the same schedule and would be more predictable as to when she needed to go.

Definitely clean the crate with Nature's Miracle after accidents.

Puppies need to pee a lot.  They have to pee after napping and after playing, as well as after eating and drinking, and, well, whenever they need to pee!  There's no exact timing to it, you just start to notice the patterns.  (For Kiska, the peeing after napping was the big one -- she would wake up and pee immediately. We learned to rush her outside as quick as we could, and to be patient since she physically couldn't control it.  But there were accidents at first. As she got a little bigger and older, she got to where she could hold it long enough for us to get her out the door!)  In addition to taking him out those times, I would take him out to pee right away every time you take him out of the crate (before doing whatever it is you are going to do), and once more before he goes back into the crate.  And whenever you're not sure if he might need to go, take him out!

I have heard some folks on the board say they use treats to reward outside pottying, and other folks who don't.  I never used treats, just big happy praise dance to reward going outside, for the very reason that I was worried the puppy would either fake pee to get the treat, or not pee it all out to get multiple treats. I'm sure people have different philosophies and experiences on what works.  One thing I did notice with Yukon -- if I said "good boy" before he was totally done peeing, he would stop and hold the rest. Then he would go inside and not be able to hold it anymore and have an accident.  At first I couldn't figure out why this was happening, and then my husband noticed that i was praising prematurely (I was the culprit!).  So then I learned to wait until he was fully done on this own to tell him what a good job he had done.  

Enjoy your puppy!!! Take lots and lots of pictures.  He will be a big boy and potty trained before you know it.

[Yukon]

First, tell your vet what is going on. Odds are, puppy is totally healthy, but in our case, Nia had a little bacterial issue in her lady parts and got several UTIs before her first heat that complicated things.

I think that at 12 weeks with free access to water his intake is probably the issue, but this is definitely something to watch.  Both my puppies had UTIs at around 4 months of age.  In both cases, they had just started to be pretty reliable with potty training, and then all of a sudden started having lots of accidents.  Both times the vet was skeptical at first (thinking it was potty training), and both times the vet was wrong -- it was a UTI!  Easily fixed with a few days of medicine.  UTIs are more common in girls than boys, but my boy puppy had one, so it can definitely happen. So make sure if and when you do bring him in that you have the vet test a urine sample just in case.

[Saint Mom]

Another training tips I learned through my puppy cyno classes was that as soon as you were taking the puppy out of the crate to take him/her outside, hold the tail under their tummy. It is impossible for them to pee/poop. If your puupy starts pooping inside, quickly grab the pup, tail under  and out the door you dash to praise the finishing job!!!

Good luck.

I think my next puppy will be brought home when he's 9 months.

[eskienoel]

Oh, good tip on the tail. My husband still scoops Nia up out of her crate to take her out, in fact. When she was teeny, we scooped and cradled her, putting her tail between her legs, because we had quite a walk from our condo to grass.

[snowballsmom]

[/Quote]

I think my next puppy will be brought home when he's 9 months.
[/quote]

aint that the truth. 8 mos, or maybe 2 yrs old. snoop was 8-9 mos old and impossible to train. course, he was a stray that had never been in a house let alone trained......but yeah....4 is a good age now that i think about it :-)

[Betsylynn6]

Praise like an insane person when the potty happens outside. As someone on the board once said, if your neighbors don't think you are nuts, you aren't doing it right.

This was me when we had issues with Trixie peeing in the house. (A bad combo of not enough potty training and too much submissive peeing.) Going to the bathroom probably became the highlight of Trixie's entire day, because she had at least two, if not three, people running around in the yard with her, cheering her on, giving her hugs and treats... Luckily we live on a lot of land and neighbors are nowhere to be seen, or I can guarantee you we'd all be in the nut house. I still think she expects a lot of attention even now, because she'll go potty, look at me, and give me that 'Okay, where's my cheerleader with my treats??' look. 

[xragrl]

I agree with what everyone is saying. The thing about treats.... Juneau has recently started going out the back door and then coming right back in for a treat without going potty! She thinks that just because she went outside that she can have a treat! We are in the process of trying to ween her off "potty treats" but not sure how that's going to work out. So, don't give out treats unless he pees or poops outside! Good luck!

[BanaerEskies]

sorry Jen, I didn't mean don't clean the pup, but a full blown bath seems to much plus excessive bathing destroys the natural oils in the skin/coat that make the eskie self cleaning.  A damp cloth and maybe some waterless shampoo would be my daily cleanup

[snowballsmom]

i figured as much. i just didnt want anyone thinkign a puppy was running around soaked in dried pee, as that could damage/stain hair and skin. a rinse off or something like you described would work. again, i potty trainrd in the summer so i took the babies for a swim and would just shock the pool at night

[Hana]

Juneau has recently started going out the back door and then coming right back in for a treat without going potty! She thinks that just because she went outside that she can have a treat!

Hee hee!  You think that is funny.... when *I* would come inside from the outside backyard, Hana run over to be near the cookie jar and think that *SHE* deserved a treat for ME coming inside!  Silly doggie!

[snowballsmom]

snowball hasnt gotten a potty treat in at least 5 1/2 years but still races out, fake pees and races in. like it;s a contest or something.

she also knows there is ONE cookie at bedtime so she will start followint me upstairs around 830, like when i go up to pee, or change, just in case it's actually bedtime. them when it is bedtime she tried to herd snoop into his cage b.c she only gets her cookie after he;s in his cage and has gotten his.

[xragrl]

Juneau has recently started going out the back door and then coming right back in for a treat without going potty! She thinks that just because she went outside that she can have a treat!

Hee hee!  You think that is funny.... when *I* would come inside from the outside backyard, Hana run over to be near the cookie jar and think that *SHE* deserved a treat for ME coming inside!  Silly doggie!

That's too funny! We bought a doggy door bell for Juneau so she could ring the door bell to let us know when she wanted to go out. She was scratching up the window in the door so I figured this would help. It came this morning and she learned how to ring the door bell in about 2 minutes. We have already had to hide it from her because she was ringing the door bell over and over just to go out and come right back in for a treat!  Guess we'll be doing a lot of training this weekend.

[Eskielvr]

Maybe someone already mentioned this, I didn't take the time to scroll through everything. But you're missing one major rule in potty training, which is....

If you take him out to potty, and he doesn't. Then bring him back in and put him back in his crate and take him out 10 minutes later. An hour is waaaaaay too long. Do this every ten minutes until he goes, then reward him like crazy!

[snowballsmom]

Maybe someone already mentioned this, I didn't take the time to scroll through everything. But you're missing one major rule in potty training, which is....

If you take him out to potty, and he doesn't. Then bring him back in and put him back in his crate and take him out 10 minutes later. An hour is waaaaaay too long. Do this every ten minutes until he goes, then reward him like crazy!

yes! very important melissa! and it wasnt mnetioned!
oncem the very first rainiy day i had snoopy for, i had had him about 2 weeks, i spent literally 2 1/2 hours doing this. i was in tears, i was so frustrated. i wanted to send him back, he was such a little s**t. now i know, he'll hold it upwards of 18+ hours in rainy weather but UGH was i frustrated with him!