Behavior or Training - still peeing in crate

[Millie "2"]

I wasn't sure if this is truly a training issue at this point or if it is a behavior problem. My 5 month old female Millie is crated during the day while I am at work. I have someone come twice a day to let her out so she is never in her crate for more than 3-4 hours at a time. She seems to be fine in the morning, but her towel is always wet by the time I get home from work. She is housebroken, and I just recently started to let her sleep with me at night which is going well so far. She sleeps sounder and longer than previsouly in her crate. I'm stumped as to why she is still having peeing accidents in her crate. I tried taking the towel out, thinking if she had to lay in it she would stop and hold it. That didn't work as she licked it up - YUCK! Anyone out there have any suggestions for me??

Linda

 

[AnimalCntrl]

try giving her just enough room in the kennel to lay down nothing extra, They will not lay in there own mess, thats why she licked it up! Use a box or somthing to make a smaller space..good Luck!

 

[Prophecy]

A larger crate would help a little. Ive heard a number once that if a dog is 5 months old then it can hold for 5 hours, 6 months old then 6 hours etc etc. Now if your going to be gone for 8 or 9 hours what do you expect from a puppy? Come home for lunch and take the dog out, As the dog gets older it will learn to hold it longer however now your just going to have to work something else out. Those absorbant diaper pads work okay but Ive found they will eat those too.. Hahha So thats were your at.

Also make sure the dog goes out the minute before you leave for work. At that age they go alot.

Hope this helps. Good luck

Proph

 

[kitikarial2]

Are you sure it is pee or could it be drool? I thought Lucy was still peeing in the crate because her blanket and toys were always wet and I thought that was gross too but apparently it is just drool from chewing on her things that are in the crate and just plain drooling I guess. So that made me feel better that she wasnt still going in the crate and she is 5 months old too. Good Luck!

 

[Millie "2"]

Thanks for the responses. I only have enough room for her to lay down and turn around and she's let out twice while I'm gone (every 3 hours), but I brought her to the vet last Thursday and I think we have solved the problem. The vet did a urine culture and it came back a few days later with TONS of Ecoli bacteria in it so they have her on antibiotics now. Also, when I was there they noticed her vaginal area was swollen and said she also has vaginitis. I guess it's a prepuberty thing and once she gets spayed it would be taken care of. So needless to say, I made an appointment for her that next day (last Friday). She's doing great so far, the swelling has gone down around her vaginal area and she's not peeing quite as often. She has another week on the antiobiotics and then I go back to get her stitches out and retested to make sure the infection is totally gone. I knew something else was up, it always pays to follow your gut instinct. Thanks all for the advice.

Another quick question and I know it's a tough one, how do you keep a 5 month boxer calm after having surgery for 7 to 10 days?????

 

[BoboTheBoxer]

The answer is training.....

If you haven't already, get a copy of Jean Donaldson's small book called "The Culture Clash". She narrows down and pinpoints the "behavior" vs. "training" scenarios.