Puppy peeing in crate, possibly for attention
Let me start off by saying that I've had 3 days in a row of crate accidents, so I completely understand that this is my fault. However, today Nellie peed her crate TWICE in a row, once only a few minutes after I took her outside and then when I finished cleaning the crate away from her view she IMMEDIATELY peed it in again. I have no idea if she's doing it for attention (the immediacy of the second accident kind of suggests to me that it is) but I really don't know how to fix it. I already know she doesn't like her crate and I've tried putting in dividers and a bed and it doesn't help. She hasn't peed in it while there was a bed. Please help! What should I do if she does pee the crate again, and how would I go about fixing her crate peeing problem?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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Puppies do not pii to get attention. Housbreaking is a form of training that works in conjunction with physical maturing and the ability to bring involuntary muscles under voluntary control. The process requires patience, consistency and giving the pup frequent opportunity to eliminate on a natural, outdoor surface. In this sense there are no puppy accidents, just owner accidents, as you very well point out in your opening sentence.... Use a white vinegar and water mixture for cleanups, or a commercial enzyme based product such as Nature's Miracle. Paruse the site and FAQs for umpteen housebreaking hints and general advice on the subject.
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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Puppies don't pee for attention. Is there any chance she has a bladder infection? Does she fuss when it happens, or does she just not care about sitting in it?
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Permalink Reply by Nina & Nellie on
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She used to fuss but today both times she just went 3 times within an hour. After that she seems to have gone back to normal and not peeing in the crate. She seemed not happy about being in the pee.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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I agree its not for attention. It takes awhile for puppies to understand what it feels like when they have to go. Also, the scent from a previous accident can trigger urination. Just try to take her out more and have you tried a Kong with a little cheese smeared inside? My crated dog really looks forward to her cheesy Kong!
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I give her nice things only when she is in her crate and the door is closed. Unfortunately the door has to be closed or else Nellie will take it and then run out into her pen to work on it there. So putting nice things into the crate for her doesn't work like it should. She simply doesn't positively associate it, for reasons unknown... I watched Victoria Stilwell's method of making them like the crate, and it involves taking the given item from them and putting it back into the crate so that they learn they can only enjoy it in the crate. Unfortunately I tried this with Nellie and she growled at me for taking her nice things away.
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Mine never get cheese in their Kongs unless I am leaving, that makes it a special treat. Sometimes I think the one that is crated wants me to leave...she will bring her Kong to me and wait.
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Permalink Reply by Cathie on
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The whole premise of using a crate for housebreaking is that a dog supposedly has a natural instinct to avoid soiling the place where it sleeps. If the dog repeatedly eliminates in the crate, the crate has become ineffective for that purpose.
You said she didn't pee in the crate when the bed was there, but she didn't like it. I think it's worth working on getting her to like it, or trying a different type of crate that she is comfortable in and considers her sleeping place. Then she'll be less likely to eliminate in it.
Alternatively, you could try abandoning the crate idea for now, and putting her bed inside an ex-pen, with newspaper at one end. Confine her to this small area when you can't watch her 100% of the time. Take her outside every hour or two if you're home. She will then have two choices: potty outside or potty on newspaper inside. You will be in control of how often she has a chance to go outside. She gets praise and treats when she goes outside, nothing for going inside on the paper. The newspaper is an interim solution. Eventually, as she gains control and you develop a feel for her elimination patterns, she'll potty outside only.
I have been using this method for Sky (he's 5 mo.), and we are down to one use of the newspaper at night, all the rest of his business is done outside.
Hang in there, housebreaking is frustrating but you will prevail!
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Right... I was so worried I wouldn't be able to trust her in the crate again.
I'm not 100% sure if she doesn't like the bed or if she just does weird corgi things with it, such as sleep underneath it/pushing it away to sleep on the plastic underneath. The bulk of the bed being in the crate seems to stop her from peeing on it, though.
I think today might have been a freak accident, crossing fingers. It's worrying that she doesn't seem to complain as much when she needs to go anymore, since she used to freak out if she needed to go and she was in the crate. I noticed she drank a lot of water in the morning and thus might have actually needed to go that many times. So while it's a housetraining setback it seems like at least she is not "ruined".
I started her out on newspaper but I am home all day so I took it away so I could watch her. However she likes to whine and stare at me for "no reason" sometimes so I'm stuck between being paranoid that she needs to go or she's doing it for attention/to get out of the crate.
Thanks for the advice and kind words :) I was about to have a mini breakdown today with all of the crate accidents recently.
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Permalink Reply by Jen Giammona on
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We didn't crate Linus, we penned him and that worked pretty well. We had the puppy pads at one end, and his bed and food at the other. He learned to potty on the pads and lifting him in and out of the pen for outside potty time was very easy. Linus was housebroken really quickly and by the time he was 4 months old he was holding it all day even though we left pads in the pen for him while we were at work. Maybe try giving her lots of treats and love and when she pees outside?
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I give her treats outside, but once she eats them she blows me off and wants to go sniff something on the ground. Recently she's even been ignoring the treat and I have to literally shove it in her face (she gets the same kind of treat every time unless if I forget to bring it with me, then she might get something better). Even when I'm going "good girrrrrl" and petting her and fussing she doesn't care about the praise part.
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