My seven month old puppy peeing

[Kenneth]

My puppy keeps peeing in his cage at night tried to leave him out of his cage but he then plays up and needs putting back inside.  Should he be wetting his bed.  Thanks 

[Adrienne]

Hi Kenneth,

Welcome to the forums!

How old is your puppy?  And where is your pup's place to go potty? ) 

Also, are you using the right size crate? It needs to be big enough that your pup can lie down and turn around, but not that large that he can comfortably lie down in one corner and go pee the opposite one. 

Young puppies need to be taken out at night for a minimum of 1 to 2 times if we are training them to go potty outdoors. So you'll likely have to set your alarm to take your pup out at set times during the night/early morning. Make sure that every evening before closing him in the crate he has a last potty trip and the opportunity to eliminate so he's "empty" when in the cage.  Accidents in the crate are not unusual, but we want to minimize the amount of accidents happening in the crate as this can become habit-forming. 

More on potty training here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/7-secret-potty-training-strategies/

[Kenneth]

I will try this he also gets excited pees  but I will set alarm anything is worth a try. He is 7 months old 

[Adrienne]

At 7 months, he should be old enough to be able to hold it overnight. It may be still worthy doing a late night/early morning trip outside, but it would be also important ruling out any possible medical problems especially if this is a new problem. Although more common in female puppies, males can too develop urinary incontinence due to urinary tract infections. You can also ask your vet as well whether removing access to water a couple of hours prior to bedtime may be worthy of a try. 

Here is a guide for excitement urination:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/urinating-when-excited/

 

[Kenneth]

I have been listening to your advice and he does get excited very easily. Even when he goes to the groomers he pees  but never does it in the house only at night  I don’t think he does it deliberately but i have to rinse him and his bedding every morning  I have tried to leave his cage door open at night to give him a bit of freedom he just barks and I have to put him back in his cage. Thanks for all your help 

[Adrienne]

That's interesting that he does it only at night and never during the day. Usually with potty training issues, they have accidents also during the day. So it may likely boil down to him not being able to hold for an extended amount of time (so this can be solved by taking him out at least once) or some underlying medical issue.  Just to rule out other possibilities, some extra details may help. 

Are you training him to go potty outside in the yard?

If outdoors, how often do you take him outside during the day? 

Is he neutered or intact?

What breed is he?

When you leave his cage door open at night, is he getting out and going potty?

Are you making sure he is going potty before closing him in the crate in the evening?

What size is the crate? Does he have room to stand, turn around and lie down yet snug enough for him to not  pee in one corner and sleep comfortably in the other corner?

Is the crate nearby you at night so that you can hear him move around or vocalize to alert you he needs to be taken out?

Thank you for the extra details.

[Kenneth]

In the day we are always aware when he wants to go out never does it in the day. He is a cockapoo  he doesn’t like his cage door left open or else he barks   Cage is the right size he is in the next room too us as we have a bungalow. 

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the extra details, they are very helpful!

If your puppy dreads being crated/confined or being separated from you, that can too trigger sometimes anxious peeing. It may help trying to keep the crate nearby your bed so that he feels reassured knowing that you are nearby and so you can hear him if he needs to potty at night. Many pups calm down considerably once we place the crate nearby us in the bedroom and we create a bedtime routine of giving them a treat once closed in the crate. 

We have a video series here on how to teach a puppy or dog to love the crate but he may need to start fresh using a different crate and working on creating positive associations with that. Feeding him treats in it can help create positive associations while also instilling the den instinct which is a dog's instinct to not pee where he eats and sleeps. Here is the video series:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/

Other tips/ideas that come to mind:

-Make sure that when your puppy is crated he is "empty." In other words, he has peed and pooped before being closed in.

-Clean the accidents in the crate with an enzyme-based product that helps remove traces of any residual smells.

-If you wake up to a wet puppy, mark the time you suspect the accident may have happened and aim to set your alarm clock at leash half hour prior, in hopes of preventing it by taking your puppy out. If it doesn't work, set it up an hour earlier or more until you can prevent it from happening.

-Make sure the crate is of the correct size for potty training.

-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/listen to 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. 

-If your puppy keeps struggling holding his bladder overnight, mention it to your vet. Sometimes dogs may leak urine during sleep due to underlying medical issues.

-Finally, make sure that it's actually pee and not saliva. Some dogs get anxious when they are crated or in another room away from owners to the point of drooling profusely. Often the puddles of saliva are confused for pee. 

I hope this helps,

Keep me posted.

[Kenneth]

Thanks I am trying all different things at moment. Will keep you informed 

[Adrienne]

Sounds like a plan! Some pups also benefit from non-absorbent bedding so they end up feeling wet, versus bedding that is highly absorbent and doesn't impact them. It can also help to remove access to water for a couple of hours prior to bedtime if your pup is 100 percent healthy-always best to ask the vet. 

Let me know how things work out for you. We can always do more troubleshooting. 

Best,

Adrienne 

[Kenneth]

Tried non absorbent bedding doesn’t work some times it’s not too much but I will just hope he grows out of it. And the excitement peeing.  Thanks 

[Adrienne]

The non-absorbent bedding can help some pups, but generally once they have gotten used to sleeping in their pee and being wet over a long course of time, they sort of get used it and it becomes the norm 😞. I don't think they grow out of it once they are older and it becomes a habit (the peeing in the crate), unless we take steps to prevent it from happening in the first place as much as possible. I still find it odd that he doesn't have accidents during the day.

Where is he kept during the day that you are always aware of when he needs to be taken out? Is he crated? How often do you take him out during the day?

They do tend to outgrow the excitement peeing if we take steps to prevent it from happening too often. As always we want to prevent rehearsal of the problematic behavior which can become habit-forming. Have you noticed when it happens exactly? Like when you come home? When you talk to your puppy in a certain tone of voice? When you bend down to pet him? What have you been doing when you catch him having an accident where he's not supposed to go?

[Kenneth]

In the day we sit down and he is with us all the time. So when he wants to go out he sits at the door looking at us we say do you want wee wee he’ll give a bark and go to the door again. He is not crated in the day unless we leave him  but have noticed sometimes there are little spots of wee on the floor. 

[Adrienne]

OK, so it sounds like the issue is mostly with the crate. It may therefore help for the time being at night to keep the crate enclosed in a small play pen or even better in an enclosed area nearby the door (in hopes he'll bark to be let out). Keep the crate door open and set pee pads just outside of it in hopes that your puppy will learn to step out of the crate to pee rather than just lie in it. I would see how that works out. At the same time, it may help to keep working on making the crate a great place to be. It may help to use a new type of crate such as a travel crate of the right size if you have been using a wire one.

Once he learns to get up and pee out of the crate often, you can then progress to gradually closing him in the crate while you leave your pup with something valuable to chew on as shown in the "love the crate" video series. Gradually increase the time closed, mixing in briefer and longer absences. Then at night, watch/listen to 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. 

The little spots of wee on the floor can be due to excitement. Find out what triggers it exactly in his interactions with you as some of our behaviors are the culprit. Try to avoid talking in hyper voices, praising and looming over. If you need to greet him after coming home, greet him outside. 

Have you noticed any changes (even little improvements( by using any of the tips provided earlier (like taking him out at night more often, removing water a couple or hours prior to bedtime, keeping the crate nearby you at night?) 

 

[Kenneth]

Thanks for all your advice tried it but he still pees in his cage at night tried getting up in the night   He isn’t scared of his cage he will go in without any trouble. Don’t know weather take him to the vets. Thanks 

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome. I am just trying to figure out what is going on and would have expected to see a reduction in wetting in the crate if he was restricted water a couple of hours prior and if he was taken out multiple times at night. 

If he was suffering from some type of leakage during sleep or urinary tract infection, I would have expected to see it also during the day. However, you mentioned in one post "Even when he goes to the groomers he pees, but he never does it in the house, only at night" but then in another post you mentioned " have noticed sometimes there are little spots of wee on the floor. "So if you are finding pee spots on the floor even during the day, I think it would be a good idea to see the vet just to rule out any possible medical problems. They will likely want a urine sample to test it. Make sure it's fresh and placed in a sterile container if you are able to catch a sample. If not, your vet staff should be happy to collect it for you. 

The big problem since this behavior persists is letting him keep on peeing in the crate and sleeping in his pee.  The more he pees in it, the more difficult it is to stop this behavior. I would try the play pen/exercise pen option with the crate kept inside it and left open (so he can sleep in it freely) with a few pee pads left nearby in hopes that if he needs to go he'll choose to get up and go outside. 

Another option is trying a so-called "puppy apartment" where you have a crate with a separated area to be used as a bathroom. I don't know if this may be worthy of a try, but it would allow you to close your puppy in the crate which may work to prevent the barking you mention that occurs when the crate door is left open. 

Here's a video about this product:

Is this peeing in the cage a problem that you have had since you got him or is it a new behavior? If it's been that way since you got him, consider that there are some pups who never really develop their instinct to not pee where they sleep and this is mostly seen in puppies coming from pet stores or puppy mills. Where did you get your puppy from?

 

[Kenneth]

We got him from a private home breeder who was very good ,he did stop for a short while about september time but then started again he seems a very excitable puppy and just wants to be with us all the time.  Last night I left the cage door open so he could have freedom in his room but did not settle and had to put him back in his cage with the door shut then he settles. But with COVID we don’t leave him in the house on his own but when we do he just howls and barks we record his behaviour he does get very excited when in company and dribbles . Such a lovely puppy in every other way   Thanks for any help 

[Kenneth]

I thought he would like freedom at night but he is happier in his cage. But whenever we do leave him in the cage and go out he  howls and barks but does not pee .

[Adrienne]

If he's happier being locked up, then the puppy apartment shown in the video above may be worthy of a try. It can be closed on both sides, but there's an opening in the middle so that he can move from his sleeping area to the pee pads. This may help recuperate any little denning instinct (instinct of dogs to not pee where they sleep) he may have left.

Another idea that comes to mind is that if he barks/howls when the door is left open is providing him with something to distract him with such as a stuffed Kong or some other long-lasting edible chew that can keep him occupied for a while and tire him out. Hopefully, he will fall asleep once done and the room is all dark and quiet. 

He likely isn't peeing when crated when you go out because it's not long enough for him to have an accident. He likely pees because he is crated overnight for longer than he can hold it. What's the longest you have kept him crated during the day with no pee accidents?

Another option is a crate that you can put a grate in. You can Google "floor grate for crate" to see an example.  It is a wire mesh bottom and the urine will go right through into a tray where you can put a pee pad to absorb it. I'd place a comfy folded up tiny blanket in one corner of the crate and make sure the crate is big enough that the puppy can walk off of its bed and onto the grate area to pee. The pee will fall through the grate. 

[Kenneth]

Hello haven’t text for a while as Monty has stopped peeing in his cage (touch wood) started taking him out for a wee on his lead at night instead of just letting him on the drive  he pees a lot more when he’s out  so thanks all your advice just hope he keeps it up. Thanks 

[Adrienne]

Hi Kenneth,

Thank you so much for taking the time to update.

Keeping my fingers tightly crossed that he's learning to not pee in the cage!

 Keep up the good work in what you're doing as it seems to be helping. 

Best,

Adrienne