Peeing inside the crate

[KarthikMuthuswamy]

Hello dog lovers,

My questions are:

1. I read that puppies do not like to potty where they sleep. However, my pup does not seem to care! He pees and simply lies in the pee around him, sometimes even making him soaking wet (that I have to wash him with water to ensure he does not smell of his pee). Is this normal behaviour? With this behaviour, we've not kept any clothing or bedding inside the crate as we might have to wash one every 3 hours or so. His crate is simply the base plastic that it came with.
2. When he finishes pooping and peeing, I leave him in a playpen with some toys. However, he would pee in the playpen when we miss looking at him for even a few seconds. This behaviour is completely baffling me!
3. The good thing is he warns me with yelping if he wants to poop or drink water. I regularly take him out around every two hours and after his meal times. How could I possibly teach him to warn me before peeing? Would teaching him to ring a bell to potty help here? 

Any suggestions would be great here!

Thanks,

Karthik

[KarthikMuthuswamy]

To add some context about my pup: he is a four-month old Golden retriever. I've been crate training for the past three weeks. He sleeps (without peeing) in the crate from 9:30 at night (last potty break) until 6:30 (first potty break) in the morning. However, during the day, he drinks water regularly (water bowl kept outside the crate) and pees in the crate without much warning. We have a large crate but we've created a separation that makes it small enough to move around but not walk around the crate.

P.S.: Sorry for the separate posts, the forum was complaining of an SQL injection attack in my text and I had to split the texts to make it possible for me to post this here.

[Adrienne]

Hi Karthik,

You will find your questions in bold and my answers below:

"I read that puppies do not like to potty where they sleep. However, my pup does not seem to care! He pees and simply lies in the pee around him, sometimes even making him soaking wet (that I have to wash him with water to ensure he does not smell of his pee). Is this normal behaviour? With this behaviour, we've not kept any clothing or bedding inside the crate as we might have to wash one every 3 hours or so. His crate is simply the base plastic that it came with."

Yes, you are referring to the so called "denning instinct." Ideally, we want to see this instinct inculcated in our pups, but things don't always go this way. Ideally, good dog breeders will start their pups on the right paw when they are still in their care. Once puppies become more mobile, good breeders will usually set up a specific area (just a few steps away from where they nurse and sleep all piled up with their mom) where pups can eliminate.

Once again, this takes advantage of a puppy's natural instinct to not want to soil where they eat and sleep. As the puppies mature further in a reputable breeder's care, they may also be introduced to a crate, so that, when they go home to their new owners, the crate will be a comfortable and familiar place rather than a novelty to fear. 

Of course, this is an ideal situation. Problems often start when puppies are raised by careless breeders, or worse puppy mills and pet stores, where pups are kept in cages most of the time and therefore are forced to eliminate there and walk and sleep in their own waste. These pups  therefore develop preferences for the surfaces of these cages as their potty areas and never get to learn to hold it. Sometimes, we also see problems when pups are crated for longer than they can hold it and if their crates are too small. 

When he finishes pooping and peeing, I leave him in a playpen with some toys. However, he would pee in the playpen when we miss looking at him for even a few seconds. This behaviour is completely baffling me!

When puppies are active, they tend to drink a lot and this leads to frequent messes. I have had puppies who needed taken out as often as every half hour to an hour when awake. It could be he may be peeing when you're not looking if you have gotten upset about his messes in the past (for some sensitive pups even us remarking "oh no! What a mess!" is enough for them to want to hide so to secretly pee out of our sight. 

The good thing is he warns me with yelping if he wants to poop or drink water. I regularly take him out around every two hours and after his meal times. How could I possibly teach him to warn me before peeing? Would teaching him to ring a bell to potty help here? 

That's good! In general, pups learn faster to control their poop rather than their pee. I find the use of a bell useful, but only once a puppy has shown the ability to hold it long enough to walk towards the door and wait for the owner to open it even when walking from a distance (like a farther room).  I will be providing some tips for dogs peeing in the crate in my next post shortly. 

[Adrienne]

However, during the day, he drinks water regularly (water bowl kept outside the crate) and pees in the crate without much warning. We have a large crate but we've created a separation that makes it small enough to move around but not walk around the crate.

The ideal size of the crate should be  snug enough so the pup is not comfortable soiling in a corner, but large enough to allow him to comfortably stretch, stand up, and turn around. If your crate doesn't allow him to walk around, I am afraid it may be a little too small so when he needs to pee, there may be chances he's just peeing on himself and you have no signs to rely on (such getting up and walking around).  I hope your puppy hasn't had too many accidents in the crate so far, because if it happens a whole lot, pups may start making the crate their new official bathroom and they can get desensitized to feeling wet, not to mention they may stop trying to hold it. 

So what can we do in cases as such? Here are a few tips that come to mind:

 

• Make it a habit to give your dog a long lasting edible chew or stuffed Kong when told to "crate" so that he associates the crate with a place to eat and sleep (and therefore trying to inculcate some denning instinct).
• Avoid keeping your dog crated for longer that he or she may keep it.
• Make sure that when your puppy is crated he is "empty." In other words, he has peed and pooped before being closed in.
• After some time, keep an "eye and ear" on your puppy. If he's sleeping and then you hear him moving around (make the crate less snug and see if that helps), this can be a sign he needs to be taken out to potty.
• Provide ample of opportunities to pee outside if your goal is outdoor elimination. Young puppies may need to go as often as every 30 minutes to an hour when awake. They more they go outside, the more you help establish correct habits so that they can make the connection that outside is the place to go. Make sure to praise and reward with a tasty treat when he goes outside.
• Familiarize yourself with signs your puppy needs to go potty (sniffing, moving around, stopping from playing, circling)  and readily accompany your dog out as soon as you recognize them. Praise and reward for successfully eliminating outside.
• With young puppies, make sure to take them out right after eating, upon waking up from a nap, after playing vigorously, once or twice a night and right before bed time.
• Clean the accidents in the crate with an enzyme-based product that helps remove traces of any residual smells.
• Keep a journal of your dog's accidents in the crate/play pen and at what time they happen so that you can aim to taking him outside earlier to prevent such accidents.
• For obstinate cases, you can try to keep the crate enclosed in a small play pen. Keep the crate door open and set pee pads just outside it in hopes that your puppy will learn to step out of the crate to pee rather than just lie in it. Once he learns to get up and pee out often,  you can then progress to closing the crate. Watch your dog. Hopefully, your pup should learn to start whining or pawing in protest to be let out at some point and you can then escort him outside. 
• Avoid getting upset when you catch your dog eliminating in the crate or elsewhere.This will only teach your  dog to hide too pee or poop out of your sight. 
• Always praise and reward your dog when he goes potty outside. With time and persistence, you can also train your new puppy to go potty on command.