# Crate Training - Help!!



## jas (Mar 31, 2009)

Oscar is 15 weeks old and has been pretty good so far and is usually quite capable of holding himself throught the night and about 4 hours through the day. Yesterday he pee'd in his crate after about 3 hours when i was at work which was unusual and then this morning i woke up and he had done it again!!! He didn't bark to let me know that he wanted to go!! I'm really frustrated as he was doing so well. what should i do next?
This is my first dog so any advice would be appreciated!


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## englishvizsla (Nov 28, 2008)

It could just be that he can smell where he had previously peed and so went in the same place again. If you use a really good cleaner that's not ammonia based it should help remove the scent completely and might stop him using his crate as his toilet. 

Also it could be the size of the crate. When Ferdie was really little we had a small crate that was big enough for him to stand up and turn around in but that was all. Sometimes if the crate is quite big they can almost designate an area that they decide to use as their toilet. If the crate is quite a big one could you maybe partition the crate off so he only has a small space to be in when you're not there so he doesn't have room to pee anywhere without actually sitting in it? Dogs are naturally quite clean animals so he shouldn't want to pee near where he's sleeping unless he absolutely can't help it.

I can't guarantee that these will definitely work but they might be worth a try! Hope things improve, and don't let it put you off using a crate - it's the best thing we ever did with our pup.


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## Vlicked (Jun 19, 2008)

I agree with all of EnglishV's tips.

I just wanted to add that our pup would occassionally have pee accidents in his crate if we didn't get home in time. He did finally outgrow this around 4.5-5 months. At 15 weeks, their bladders are still pretty small. We never relied on our pup's cries during the night since he never really made any sounds; just could hear him shifting about in the crate. Instead we always took him out twice during middle of the night (the first few weeks we had him) no matter what then once at night the next month or so. Never had an accident at night.

Give him another month or two; I'm sure he will outgrow it as his bladder gets bigger.


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## tbone13 (Apr 24, 2008)

Agreed with everyone else, there's also a good chance that you "got lucky" for awhile without him having accidents. We have a gsp female who is about 8 months old and it took her a little over 6 months to completely stop having accidents. Aside from bladder size I think learning the routine has a lot to do with it, it took her awhile to figure out "how things worked", and believe me dogs are smart enough to catch on.


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## jas (Mar 31, 2009)

Thanks for all your replies folks, they make me feel a lot better. I guess i just got lucky like you said. I have now got someone to pop in during the afternoon to let him out and then come in 10 minutes later every day until he gets a bit older.


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## grahama (May 4, 2009)

Hi Jas,

How are you doing with the crate problems now, did you find the solution?

Regards

Graham


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## jas (Mar 31, 2009)

Brilliantly!! There was no real solution, I was just expecting too much too soon. As it was my first ever dog I just got a little too worried far too early. It was awful, I used to wonder if i had a dog with a problem! I said in my post before that he didn't even bark to let meknow, who knows, he may have given me some sort of signal that I missed. You just have to give it time and their bladders just get stronger. He is now six months old and he's lasted 5 hours no problem, I've never needed him to wait any longer than that. The best thing to do when you get your dog home is take it out every hour, after meals, and whenever it gets excited, eg after play. Last thing at night before bed, if the dog barks whthruogh the night just go down and take it outside, if it pees don't give it a treat or any praise and just take the dog straight back to the crate regardless of the waggy tail!! That worked staright away and he went through the night ever since without a peep.
Good luck and keep us posted, you'll get plenty of support on here, I did. Thanks all..


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