Another crate question
George has been in his crate when we have left him from being 13 weeks old. (after he went on a chewing spree) He took to it quite well but recently he has started to wet his cage. It doesn't matter how long he is left 1 hour or 4 hours! I don't know if this is because he doesn't want to be left in it and if I let him out but confined him to the room at first gradually increasing the rooms he would be happier? He is only 5 months old now. He has lots of toys and doesn't try to chew our stuff but I don't know if he would if he was left alone He isn't in a crate over night and he is ok. Doesn't chew or anything When he is lying around and he gets hot he moves away and finds a cool spot, obviously he can't do this in his crate and I am wondering if this is stressing him out. Any advice would be appreciated! |
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If only they could talk and just tell us what the problem is. 
I'd advise to start with a conversation with your vet and rule out any medical causes. He should be able to hold it for at least a few hours at 5 months old. It is possible something is stressing him out, but it might not be the crate itself. I've heard of people setting up video cameras while away and discovering that noise outside the house stresses the dog out while they were away - they had no idea, and couldn't have known. Once medical causes are ruled out, you could try giving him a small room. If you have a tiled room (for easy cleanup), ideally one that his crate can be inside left open, then chew-proof as much as possible. Look for electrical cords, furniture, etc. that he might chew, and be sure to leave some toys/kongs etc. to keep him entertained. You could also leave him something soft to lie on as well, like a dog bed either in his crate or in a corner of the room. We put a baby-gate up in the doorway instead of closing the door of Barkley's room so he can still see out a bit and won't get stressed if he can hear noises but can't see out. If it isn't medical, trial-and-error is really the only way to find what works for him. What works for some won't work for all. |
| I don't think it is medical as he can hold it throughout the night (Sometimes for as long as 9 hours!! He does wake us up if he needs to go!)
I think it is more about being left alone and confined to his crate!! |
| Are you sure he's wetting himself? Barney was horrible upset when we left him in his crate and whenever we came home we thought he wet the crate too...but turns out he drooled so profusely that he was wet everywhere. I mean, I couldn't believe it--the amount of liquid I could have sworn it was pee.
The crate turned out not to be a good choice for Barney, so he stays baby gated in the tiled kitchen while we're gone. No accidents, no drooling or anything. |
That's a lot of drool!   |
| Could also be that the crate is too big for your guy. If you can confine him within a section of the crate (most wire crates have an optional movable divider you can buy to achieve the right size for your guy as he grows). When the crate is too big is too easy for the dog to use a corner for the bathroom and just move to another section of the crate.
Sometimes they do it just because they are pissed (no pun intended, well, kind of  ) for being in the crate.
My 2 cents. |
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