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11-15-2010, 11:38 PM
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242 posts, read 1,149,274 times
Reputation: 160
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Hey all,
I have a 3 year old dog (female, fixed) that i've had for about a year now. She's crate trained and enjoys being in her crate. For the last two weeks she's been having accidents in her crate quite often. She doesn't go for the few hours a day that she's alone in her crate (while we're at work), but she will go if I put her in there for 15 mins to run an errand or something. She does have separation anxiety that we've worked through about 90%, but peeing was never one of her issues. I'm at a loss here. We've washed her bedding several times now and cleaned the crate out each time its happened. Its the proper size for her, and shes clearly unhappy being in it when we come back and its soiled. What gives? Does she need to go to the vet? No changes in appetite, absolutely nothing is different about her routine, actions, attitude, etc. Just when we leave her alone for short periods of time she pees. Help!
Edited to add:
Lately we've been letting her sleep at the foot of our bed more often- maybe 4-5 nights per week for about 3 weeks. I've begun putting her back in her crate each night. Could this just be a lapse in her crate training due to my letting her sleep on my bed?
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11-16-2010, 12:00 AM
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Location: Western NC
651 posts, read 1,380,540 times
Reputation: 498
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Quote:
Originally Posted by knh39
Hey all,
I have a 3 year old dog (female, fixed) that i've had for about a year now. She's crate trained and enjoys being in her crate. For the last two weeks she's been having accidents in her crate quite often. She doesn't go for the few hours a day that she's alone in her crate (while we're at work), but she will go if I put her in there for 15 mins to run an errand or something. She does have separation anxiety that we've worked through about 90%, but peeing was never one of her issues. I'm at a loss here. We've washed her bedding several times now and cleaned the crate out each time its happened. Its the proper size for her, and shes clearly unhappy being in it when we come back and its soiled. What gives? Does she need to go to the vet? No changes in appetite, absolutely nothing is different about her routine, actions, attitude, etc. Just when we leave her alone for short periods of time she pees. Help!
Edited to add:
Lately we've been letting her sleep at the foot of our bed more often- maybe 4-5 nights per week for about 3 weeks. I've begun putting her back in her crate each night. Could this just be a lapse in her crate training due to my letting her sleep on my bed?
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I don't think it would have anything to do with her sleeping with you. Have her checked out by a vet to rule out any medical issues. My female lab is on Proin as she has a weak urethra and it eliminated her accidents. |
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11-16-2010, 08:13 AM
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6,307 posts, read 8,591,571 times
Reputation: 8145
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Kizzy is crate-trained, and the only time he's had an "accident" in recent memory is when I went to run some garbage out to the dumpster. Five minutes later, and I came back to a puddle right by the front door.
From what you've written, I'd say that she's trying to "tell you something". If she's not going when in the crate for an extended period of time, it would seem to me that this is more of a message to you.
Do you let her out and about prior to putting her back in the crate for these short periods? Perhaps you can try giving her a treat when she's in crate like that. I give Kizzy his Kong with peanut butter in the mornings, and he doesn't even notice that I leave.  You don't have to give her too much peanut butter (or lowfat yogurt) in it, just enough to keep her busy and to associate these short spurts in the crate with "good things". Also, do you feed her in the crate?
I wouldn't worry about medical issues at this point if this is the only time she's having accidents. And, I also wouldn't worry about letting her out of the crate to sleep either. So long as they associate the crate with "good things", it should be a tool that you can use (or not) depending on your own needs. |
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11-16-2010, 09:31 AM
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Location: NW. MO.
1,817 posts, read 6,635,007 times
Reputation: 1372
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Take and keep the bedding out for a week and see if this changes. I have Tzu's and one of them WILL urinate if there is bedding in the crate. It started out of the blue or for some reason unknown to me. See if it helps at all. My dog that does this is a female.
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11-16-2010, 09:49 AM
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Location: North Western NJ
6,591 posts, read 24,149,860 times
Reputation: 9666
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my first step would be the vet, rule out any kidney and bladder issues before anything else.
just because the behaviour is so sudden and seemingly kind of random.
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11-16-2010, 10:02 AM
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Location: San Diego
5,026 posts, read 14,817,759 times
Reputation: 4886
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It's probably a urinary tract infection. In females, one of the first signs is peeing indoor and places they shouldn't. She can't hold it.
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11-16-2010, 12:03 PM
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242 posts, read 1,149,274 times
Reputation: 160
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Thanks! Were gonna go to the vet tomorrow just to make sure. And mishigas- Ella LOVES her kong! lol we do the same in the am when we leave her and it was key in her separation anxiety. I freeze hers so she really takes a long time to finish it. Totally distracts her from my leaving.
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11-16-2010, 12:07 PM
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Location: Northern MN
3,869 posts, read 14,703,787 times
Reputation: 3610
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I'd go with "It's probably a urinary tract infection."
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11-16-2010, 04:46 PM
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Location: Western NC
651 posts, read 1,380,540 times
Reputation: 498
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mishigas73
From what you've written, I'd say that she's trying to "tell you something". If she's not going when in the crate for an extended period of time, it would seem to me that this is more of a message to you.
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The problem could be behavioral especially since the OP mentioned issues with separation anxiety. But, it is best to rule out medical issues before trying to correct behavior as no amount of behavioral correction will work if the issue is actually medical.
If medical issues are ruled out, I would be looking at the separation anxiety issue again. My guess is that the dog's normal routine is to be left in the crate for several hours while the owner is at work. As the dog is used to being left in the crate at a set time, she probably does not have an issue with it. However, the short-term crating for running errands probably occurs at random intervals and is not part of what the dog considers her normal routine; so, her separation anxiety might be triggered at this change in her routine. To remedy this issue, I would put the dog in the crate at random times and leave her for a minute or so and then come back and reward her while slowly build up the time she was left in the crate until she becomes comfortable with it.
Last edited by Maia160; 11-16-2010 at 05:10 PM..
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09-13-2017, 03:14 AM
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1 posts, read 8,215 times
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I have a 14 week old pitbull and we have been trying to housebreak her we put down puppy pads and everything we bought some spray and sometimes she will use them and sometimes she does not when she does I praise her but now she is starting to pee in my bed and in her kennel what do I do about her I got her plenty of toys I have even started feeding her in her kennel and it's not helping
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