using crate as a bathroom?
He has the run of the kitchen during the day, and when we leave or go to bed, he goes in the crate. He's actually pretty good about it, although I wouldn't say he likes it. Today, I caught him 4 separate times, going up to or into his crate just so he could go to the bathroom (one poop and three pees). I'm concerned that he is seeing the crate as his bathroom. He pees during the night, but I attributed that to his young age and the long overnight stretch of time (the fact that I've been told by so many that dogs won't pee where they sleep isn't making me feel better, as he seems to be doing just that). I can't see putting him any smaller of a crate; he has room to lay down and turn around, but not lots of extra space. We clean and de-odorize so the scent doesn't linger, but he seems to gravitate there anyway. I would say he is going outside about 70% of the time, and he sometimes gives us signals that he needs to go. We praise him like crazy and give him treats when he goes outside, and try to stay calm and scoop him up and run outside when he starts to go in the kitchen, but I have to confess, it is getting more difficult to stay mellow as he does this more often and I get less and less sleep. I don't want our frustration to impact him or his training negatively, but I'm sure he picks up on it. Is there an issue with the crate, or is this total coincidence? Thanks for any input. We are a bit lost and a lot sleep-deprived. Lindsay & Jonathan |
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| When he is in his crate, have you partitioned off a section of it? From what I understand, crate training works because dogs use the crate like a den - it's their little "home". They don't ever pee in their home if they can help it. However, if the crate is too big, he could be peeing and sleeping in separate areas.
You watched him do this a few times - what did you do with him when you caught him? When we were training Bingley, the minute he began to sniff or look around or even get distracted, we had him out the door and on the grass. Sometimes it was twice every 1/2 hour (when we were home). If he did start to go while in the house we immediately picked him up (in mid-pee) and brought him outside to finish. I think the best thing to do would be to clean the crate out with some good pet product that will get rid of the smell of urine, partition it off smaller, and use it consistently as a den. Who knows? He may be viewing your kitchen as the den and the crate as the outdoors . . . Good luck! |
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