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Crate peeing!

Basenji Training
  • So every day this week Dallas has decided to pee in his crate. I was leaving all of his bedding in the crate during the day but figrued that didn't leave him anywhere to eliminate himself except on his bedding. Thus I began only leaving the fleece blanket folded up towards the back, assuming if he couldn't hold it he'd go towards the front.

    Not the case with him. He started always eliminating on the blanket…oh & laying in his pee by the way so I keep having to bath him :mad:

    So I decided to try without any blankets & now he's just peeing wherever, again laying in it & now I have noticed his toys smell like pee. I feel bad leaving him without something soft to lay on during the day though...

    Think if I were to put one of those round pet beds he'd be less likely to pee on it? Think there is a reason why he's been peeing in the crate? Oh & lately he's been doing it at night too instead of whining to go out like he has done the previous 3 weeks he's been with us. :confused:

  • How long is he in his crate?

    I dont think you can lock a puppy up all day and expect him to hold it. Ours was not fully trained until 6 months old

    Just try to keep his crate clean and get him outside regularly to go potty appropriate time before & after crating. Make sure he pees before he is put away. If he gets used to it that's not going to help. You need to scrub his crate & change his bedding after any accidents.

    You might be asking him something he is too young to do

  • @Barklessdog:

    How long is he in his crate?

    I dont think you can lock a puppy up all day and expect him to hold it. Our was not fully trained until 6 months old

    Just try to keep his crate clean and get him outside regularly to go potty appropriate time before & after crating. Make sure he pees before he is put away.

    You might be asking him something he is too young to do

    Well he is let out before I go to work in the AM around 7. Then he is kept out until my boyfriend heads to work around 8:30AM (he always pees a second time before being put in for several hours). Then around 12:30-1 PM my boyfriend comes home for lunch & takes Dallas out & then lets him out of the crate to play for about 30-40 minutes. He's put back in the crate until I get home around 4:30-5 PM. So the most time he spend in the crate is 4.5 hours?

    My coworker mentioned not leaving him water in the crate but I feel like that is mean…no?

  • 4-5 hours is not bad if he gets to go potty before & after.

    Water is not needed in a crate. That might be the problem there.

    Dont give him water before you put him in!

    Make sure the boyfriend is getting him to go potty before he puts him in.

    Dont scold him if he has an accident, he's still pretty young. Praise & give him a treat when he goes outside.

  • Our dogs have never had access to water during day regardless of age. They get it when I come home in the afternoon until the evening and then it gets picked up.

  • Okay so take the water out of the crate. Maybe that will help then. I don't get angry if he pees in the crate per se because I understand he isn't housetrained yet but it is certainly a waste of water to wash his bed on a daily basis! I'd leave a potty pad in there if I knew he wouldn't shred it to bits. He hasn't shredded one yet but only because I always catch him before he's able to. Plus I don't want him to think it's okay to go in the crate & putting a potty pad in there may encourage the behavior right?

  • @Ninabeana26:

    Okay so take the water out of the crate. Maybe that will help then. I don't get angry if he pees in the crate per se because I understand he isn't housetrained yet but it is certainly a waste of water to wash his bed on a daily basis! I'd leave a potty pad in there if I knew he wouldn't shred it to bits. He hasn't shredded one yet but only because I always catch him before he's able to. Plus I don't want him to think it's okay to go in the crate & putting a potty pad in there may encourage the behavior right?

    Cut off the water, MAKE SURE he pees before he goes in, no exceptions, use an old clean towel for bedding. I bet he will have 90% less accidents. Also if he is peeing constantly or drinking a lot water abnormally I would see a vet.

    Keep his crate spotless, if you leave it dirty he might except living in his own urine. You don't want that.

    Dont turn his crate into a toilet. it's for sleeping. Also his crate might be too big. I would put in a divider in till he gets bigger. Leave only enough room for him to sleep in, make it comfy and NO WATER/GOES POTTY before he goes in.

    Unless he has a physical problem this will work without a doubt- Both of you need to be on the same page and expect a set back - he's still a baby- Also positve food rewards do wonders for basenji's

  • And make sure that he doesn't have a UTI… especially if this is a new behavior.... And please be careful with towels... if you have one that with chew/tear them up... eating towels can easily cause a blockage with the strings of a towel wrapping around...

    As for night time.. if he is not telling you he needs to go out, you may just have to make sure you get yourself up and take him out after a few hours...

  • The rule of thumb is a puppy physically should be able to hold his bladder for the same number of hours as months he is old plus one. That is while awake…they can usually hold it longer while asleep; but if they wake up during the night they will usually go. Of course some can go quite as long, and some a little longer.

    Personally, I don't worry too much about accidents in the crate at this age. As their bladders grow, they hold it longer. I don't like leaving a dog without water for the whole day. I may only put in a little bit, though...and refresh it more often.

    I would also rather give them plenty of room and let them eliminate and then get away from it, than restrict their space and force them to be in the urine if the must go...again, at this age it is really likely that he can't hold it that long.

    Usually with a puppy that age, I put them in a big crate, line the front with paper, give them a cup bed in the back, and a crock with a tiny amount of water. We usually have pee accidents in the crate if we leave them for 4-5 hours for a while...but by 1 year they all can hold it for 10 hours if they must. So, it has worked for us.

    Your system sounds good, and it should be working soon. I think he is just too young. Sounds like he is spending a lot of time in his crate, though for a puppy. He is in there during the day, and at night?

  • @Quercus:

    Your system sounds good, and it should be working soon. I think he is just too young. Sounds like he is spending a lot of time in his crate, though for a puppy. He is in there during the day, and at night?

    Yes & I felt bad at first but he has gotten used to the crate at night, He usually falls asleep on my boyfriends chest while lying on the sofa. When we're ready for bed we take him out & after he eliminates I carry him to his crate. If I set him in front of it he will go in on his own, get comfy & fall asleep again. He's not in the crate besides while we're gone for work & while sleeping. I do plan on allowing him to sleep in the bed after he is housetrained.

  • mia only gets water when were there to watch her and take her out about 10-15 minutes later.. whenever shes taken out of the crate she goes straight outside.. and before we put her in we take her out again, whether thats 15 or 20 minutes or an hour. i've quickly learned that water goes RIGHT through them. so taking the water out of the cage should work! she has an occasional accident but not everyday.

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