Puppy peeing in crate

[luvmyhimis]

I have a five and a half month old siberian husky female. She's a great puppy, we seem to have the house training thing down, she doesn't pee on my floors anymore around the house at least. We have established what his hers to chew on and what is not. She's fairly good in that sense. I have her on a schedule of when we go out, when she eats, what not, because I do work during the day. It just seems that we have accidents in the crate quite frequently. The weird part is, there have been times, where not on purpose, but I had to work over a bit and she has lasted in the crate a little longer than expected. I went to the pet store and got this "no go" stuff, they said spray it in there and it will deter them from doing it. It didn't work. I went back, they said try wiping it out with nature's miracle to get the smell out of it, did that a couple times didn't work either. I talked with my vet about a possible urinary infection or something, he told me some signs she did not have any of them, so he said she could just be a stubborn puppy. I'm wondering has anyone else had this sort of problem and any advice to help me correct this would be great. I also have a one year old husky male, who I had a couple issues with soiling in the crate when he was little, but he can't stand to be in it anymore. He ate something he was not supposed to a bit back and caused a mess, he was crying so bad when I got home to get out of it. Poor guy. I'm at wits end, she has only enough room to turn around, sit and lay down in her crate, no more than that. I'm just running out of ideas. Please help

[Tambrey]

I would actually take her, and a fresh urine sample in to the vet, not just call...to rule out a UTI...some animals do not always show the signs or have the symptoms...animals are great masters of disguise!

from there, after those results are back, then you can work on more of the behavior modifications...

For clean up, there is a gret product called Urine Off...you can order it online...
or you can find Petastic...I have noticed that since the formulas were changed, Nature's Miracle just does not cut it any more...

[E's]

How long are you leaving this poor dog crated without a break? There are definite rules to follow about crate training, yet each breed is different and each dog within a breed is different. It may be that the pup's bladder can't take the extended periods without relief.

It has been over a decade since I crate-trained a dog and the training books I used were either given away or lost in the Federal Flood of New Orleans (the first floor of my house had 11 feet of water..) But I do recall that the best IMO were the Monks of New Skeet books (a monastery in upstate New York raises German shepherd dogs - amazon.com will have the book titles.) And at that, since I am extremely claustrophobic myself and no longer work outside the home, I was super careful about timing and my pup was crate-trained and then safe to leave in the house in just a few weeks... she loved her crate and it was sad when she outgrew it.

Where does the male dog stay now that his crate has been ruined for him? Is there any way you can hire someone to take your dogs out to walk during your absence? If not, then you must dog-proof some safe area of your house - or two such spaces, if the dogs need to be kept separated. Whatever, please do try brushing up on the basic rules, OK?

BTW - there MAY be something on the subject of crate training in the sidebar of this forum... I am having trouble w/settings atm and can't scroll over to that part.
Dot B
Austin, Texas

[Traci]

I have to agree, how long is the puppy left in the crate on the days you're gone? Young puppies cannot hold their bladders long, and do NOT try to suppress the need to urinate or defecate! To do so could cause serious bacterial infections!

If you only talked to your vet and didn't actually take puppy in to see him, make an appointment right away and ask him about getting a urine sample at home and testing for urinary tract infections. No vet can tell you over the phone whether or not a UTI is present.

[mamabear]

It would be better to know the dimensions of the crate for BOTH dogs please.

If the crate is too small for her and you are gone long periods of time that is not good for her at all. It can hurt her growth, cause her pain in her joints and take away her overall joy. Depression can set in when a person sits for too long in one place. It happens to animals as well.

She is ONLY 5 months old, she needs to go out AT LEAST 5-6 times a day in order to keep her from not peeing in the house/crate. When a puppy gets excited they have to take a break. If she is in the crate and is BORED and starts to play with herself she will get excited and therefore have to pee pee and will do so in the crate. Nothing you spray or clean with will stop this. It is not her you have to fix or the crate. It is you and how long you are gone. If you are out the door by 7am and not home till 5pm well that is no life to have locked in a crate all day long. Even if you were gone from 9-5pm that's still 8 hours of doing nothing all day long.

SHe is a Siberian Husky they need a job to do. You will hurt her spirit if she doesn't have a job to do. Your older boy as well.

I'm not saying that you have to quit your job, but I would like you to be aware of the breed you have and the job that they were bred for. Those instincts are still in them.

If you can give me a run down of what you do in the morning, how long you are gone, when you come home and what you do from there I can help a little better. I am NOT judging you so please let me know how long you are really gone for. I am only trying to figure out how to help you better.

Husky's were my family's life, they are wonderful dogs although I have never owned one personally. The very 1st one i remember was when I was 3 and her name was Pumpkin !!!! Just great dogs!!!

[luvmyhimis]

Both dogs crates are 36 x 24 x 23. But for her, I do have the divider in the crate because my vet and many others online state the dog only needs enough room to lie down and turn around and stand up in the crate. This she has. They seem to have a rather decent schedule, it's not like they are left 10 hours a day with no release, like you too I find that to be rather wrong and very cruel to the animal. I'm up at 7, the dogs go outside they do their thing run around the backyard for a bit they come in and eat and drink. I leave for work about ten to eight, they hang out with my daughter who leaves for school at 845 who lets them out before she leaves. They are in their crates til about 1230-100 when I come home everyday at lunch to let them out. They then go outside do their business run and rub each other in the dirt in the back yard, they come in for another nibble of kibble and a bit of water to wash it down, then go back to their crates. I get home at 400 from work first thing I do is let them out and they are then out of the crate until I go to bed at about midnight. She sleeps all night without waking up to go and has no accidents. So of course the natural assumption is that my "poor" puppy is left for 10 hours a day without a break. Not everyone watches Eight Below and thinks they have to have one and leaves it in a crate as a novelty because they find they bore rather easily and need things to do and the people don't have the time or patience to try to keep them happy or do their homework to know what they are getting into by owning one. I know the type you may be thinking and believe me, it's not here. I think I forgot to mention too that we do "work" the dogs. We run them in the yard everynight, we play with them all the time, they go for walks, and my daughter hooks them to her wagon and has them cart her around in it so she can teach them to pull so she can have them pull her sled this winter at the park and let them play in the snow. So for the 5-6 times a day, she sees that and then some. And to add to the clarification, she does this behavior once a week. Not everyday which is probably how you may read my wording "frequently". But to me it's frequent, because as soon as I say wow she hasn't had an accident since last Thursday she makes a liar out of me and has one that day or the next, not that I think she knows this is what I said but ironically enough it just works out that way. I can't help but beliave my vet could be right she is a stubborn puppy. Considering the responses I guess no one has experienced this sort of behavior?

[mamabear]

luv, on the contrary this behavoir is common. I work with people helping them with these problems. Your vet is wrong. I am sure he is a good vet. And as long as he says she is without an illness like a UTI which like others have said he can't diagnose over the phone then I am sure she is fine.

Very typical of a puppy to have this happen. I would prefer that she have more room and the divider be taken out since she will be growing and will have the divider taken out eventually anyway. BUT that is your call.

Yes the 1st assumption is always why is she doing this and usually it is because they are left for long periods of time. Now that it has been said how often they are out that is clearly not the case. She is still a puppy and accidents happen. Personally I like Simple Solution, pet and stain remover. Petsmart/petco places like that sell it. I buy the concentrate so I can make my own. But i have used the ready made and its worth it for me. Clean her crate well with plain soap and water. Then wipe it down with this solution, I like the smell of it because it doenst give me a headache.

Wash all of her linens in detergent that is free of perfumes. I think ALL and TIde both make one. I would use tide because although you pay a bit more for it you use less. So in the long run it's cheaper. I have a kid with eczema so I only use that on all my laundry. Add 1/2 cup of bleach to the wash(make sure its a full load of just her stuff or his and her stuff) and then add 1 cup of vinigar. Plain vinigar is fine. dry it but dont use softener or sheets at all in it. IF you get static, then lotion your hands and then wipe down her sheets with your hands afterward to get the electricity out off of it.

Since she is ONLY going about once a week or so there is really no concern(as long as it is not medical). She will learn to hold it. Like Traci said puppies don't know how to hold it and shouldn't so as her urethra grows with her it will be fine. IF you catch her going then say no and bring her outside and tell her to take a break. But if you dont catch her do not scold her at all. She wont have a clue.

My other concern is, does she know her place? Is male beating her up. Is the male neutered? Is she going to get spayed? Is not please be aware that she will have menses soon. They usually start at about 6 months and if male is NOT neutered they must stay away from each other unless you are planning to breed them. If you are planning that please note that she is very young to be a mother. and her first heat should not be the heat that she gets pregnant. If you are waiting to spay her then just make sure that you have underware just in case her heat happens before you get her to vet. If them being fix has already happen then don't worry about it.

If she has already been fixed please watch her food intake to make sure she doens't gain too much weight after the spay.

It is great that you are working the dogs. Sledding is great and good for your dd on training her. Wonderful that she is giving them a job.

You are doing things right so far, just patience and lots of love is left to keep doing. She will get it. When she goes outside praise her but don't overdue it and don't pat her on the head when you do it. Just tell her good girl in a bit of a high pitch tone.

Also you might want to teach her a command for going potty. We use "take a break" with our German Shepherds. They know take a break means go out go potty and no funny business. Although funny business always happens. LOL I also use the command "go pee" yes I use the word pee. LOL But hey it works.

Any other questions let us know. You're doing fine girl!

[Traci]

Take the divider out, providing that what you mean is each dog has their own crate.

[luvmyhimis]

Hi all,
Just got the comp back, it crashed on me. However we have great news. I took out the divider in her crate and found a homeopathic remedy for incontinence in dogs and puppies. We have not had an accident in 3 weeks, this is the longest ever she's not peed in her crate. I think we are on the right track, I'm so happy and she seems to be too

[Traci]

Homeopathy doesn't work. It's useless and a waste of money.