Hello,
I am new to the group since recently adopting a new lab mix puppy.
Hunter is 3 months old and has no previous training. He came from a
humane society where I imagine he was crated all the time. My boyfriend
and I decided we were only going to crate our puppy when we are not
home and cannot take him with us. Here's the problem, at night when he
sleeps with us he can hold his bladder and bowel for seven hours. The
only time he's had an accident is when he had a bout of diarrhea we
since gotten treated. My boyfriend works days and I work nights, so the
only time puppy is crated is a half hour between our shifts and if we
go out (3 hours @ the most). No matter how long he is in the crate
15min- 4hrs. He ALWAYS pees in his crate and lays in it. Since I
realized he is doing this I don't put anything in with him except for
some Kongs. He would chew newspaper, blankets, towels, ect. and still
pee. The only accidents he has during the day is when I am not paying
close enough attention to him. When at out of his crate he usually
sniffs around the front door when he has to go.
Also, when I do put him in the crate he whines and rushes the door for
at least three hours before quieting down.
Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks

"kat" said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

My boyfriend
and I decided we were only going to crate our puppy when we
are not home and cannot take him with us.

This may be part of your problem. Without you there, your puppy
hasn't learned to relax in his crate.

Here's one of the better posts I've read on this:
Message-ID:
or on google:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?G2665230C

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

I can't access the link right now (I'm at work and the web sense won't
let me), but I have tried putting him in the crate when I am home and
he does the same thing, so I took him out before he could pee all over
the place again. We begin puppy training classes the 29th. Until then I
was considering purchasing a new kennel with a pull-out tray so that
when he pees it will go under him into the tray instead of all over the
bottom of his crate and on him. Is this a good idea or is this
condoning his behavior? Also, am having trouble finding a crate like
that locally.
Thanks

"kat" said in rec.pets.dogs.breeds:

We begin puppy training classes the 29th.

In a perfect world, housetraining (barring a few accidents)
should be finished by the time a puppy is ready for puppy class.

Until then I
was considering purchasing a new kennel with a pull-out
tray so that when he pees it will go under him into the
tray instead of all over the bottom of his crate and on
him. Is this a good idea or is this condoning his behavior?

At the very least, you'd not be discouraging him from peeing in
his crate. After a few incidents you'll be setting his
behaviour. A good rule of the thumb is to not let a dog make
the same mistake twice. Management is the key in your issue.

In your first post, you wrote stuff which indicates you're
knowledgeable in your goals. Except:

My boyfriend and I decided we were only going to crate our
puppy when we are not home and cannot take him with us.

Unless you can supervise him closely, like watching him *every*
second (and I really mean that, I've housetrained 6 puppies in
the last 6 months), you need to contain him in a crate or
tethered to you on a leash. I choose to watch them every second
because that's what I'm paid to do.

The key to management is not letting the dog make a mistake,
whether it's housetraining or garbage-raiding or any number of
issues.

So, use a crate even while you're at home and cannot supervise -
this includes when you're watching TV and the puppy is not on
your lap. Put your puppy on a schedule for going outside to pee
and poo. Go out with him. Praise and treat when he goes.
Repeat.

Do not miss the critical step of going outside with him, on a
leash if necessary - puppies like to play and may forget to pee.

Good luck!

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

We don't have any problems with the housetraining. He does good at
notify when he needs to go out, so in reality he IS housetrained. The
only time he is guaranteed to pee is when in his crate. That's why I am
asking about the problem. He is almost perfect with the housebreaking,
only with the crate is the peeing problem.
Thanks Again,
Kathleen

"kat" wrote in message
oups.com...
We don't have any problems with the housetraining. He does good at
notify when he needs to go out, so in reality he IS housetrained. The
only time he is guaranteed to pee is when in his crate. That's why I am
asking about the problem. He is almost perfect with the housebreaking,
only with the crate is the peeing problem.
Thanks Again,
Kathleen

Reading all the posts in this thread I think your pup probably has a learned
behavior already. Puppymill pups often have this same problem because they
were brought up in cages where they were allowed to eliminate. They got
used to it because they had no choice. As far as he's concerned peeing in
the crate is normal.

I think his confinement anxiety may also be related. A crate may, to him,
be too reminiscent of the shelter. Some dogs & pups go through shelter
shock, some don't, some take a long time to get over it. Since you know he
was crated at the shelter and he exhibits anxiety when in the crate, which
may or may not be related to the elimination problem, you may be better
served by replacing the crate.

If you're using a wire crate try using a plastic one instead. Try moving
the crate to another area of the house he's comfortable in and consider
leaving a television on for him for background noise. You might also want
to consider abandoning the crate altogether for a little while and using an
alternative confinement method like a baby gate in your bathroom or laundry
room.

--
Tara

We are trying the baby gates with him in the kitchen for the first time
tonight. I am at work and my bf is out with friends so, I won't know
how it went until he calls me when he gets home. I was using a plastic
crate instead of the wire one he was used to and it didn't make a
difference to him. Last time I had to leave him in the crate alone,
Thursday, I tried leaving the radio on in another room for him to hear
and it made no difference in his behavior, I've tried using the kongs
to distract him and it makes no difference with the peeing problem.
I'll let you all know how the baby gate thing goes when I find out.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
kathleen

Well the first night we used the gate everything went great. We tried
it again last night and Humter decided that if the cat could roam
around freely he should be able to also. So, he jumped the 32" gate and
got out. He didn't do ANYTHING destructive which is suprising since all
of his toys were on the other side of the gate. He did pee in one spot
but he was alone for about 5 hours. We're not too worried about the
carpet since our house is old and it will be ripped up when we get
Hunter potty trained. So, my bf is going to either but two more gates
to stack on top of the others or put wood toppers on them. Has anyone
else tried this?

"kat" wrote in message
oups.com...
Well the first night we used the gate everything went great. We tried
it again last night and Humter decided that if the cat could roam
around freely he should be able to also. So, he jumped the 32" gate and
got out. He didn't do ANYTHING destructive which is suprising since all
of his toys were on the other side of the gate. He did pee in one spot
but he was alone for about 5 hours. We're not too worried about the
carpet since our house is old and it will be ripped up when we get
Hunter potty trained. So, my bf is going to either but two more gates
to stack on top of the others or put wood toppers on them. Has anyone
else tried this?

I'm tempted to recommend just leaving him out at night since he did so well
on his own the first time. Unfortunately, being part Lab, I don't know if
that's a good idea because eventually he's going to go into chew-mode.

I do know people who stack gates. We've done it in rescue foster homes for
dogs who suffered from both separation and confinement anxiety. They
couldn't be left loose but they couldn't be crated either. Get the kind
that can swing and which screw to the wall on one side for security.

--
Tara

Can you stack the ones that require no hardware? We need to find a
solution because when we first got him he would hold his bladder/ bowel
all night while in bed with us and now he doesn't seem to care. He just
goes when he wants and I don't want his housetraining so far to get
ruined. Today I tried putting his food and water in the crate to start
rebreaking him into the crate and he has yet to eat or drink. He'll
just stand there looking at it and when he hears any noise or sees
movement he'll take off. Hopefully the trainer at our puppy preschool
we start next saturday will have some good ideas and be able to help.
Everytime I think I get one problem solved it either back fires or
causes another, and being a first time dog owner that's kinda stressful.