Help... crate training not going so well

[os&bo's mom]

Our new puppy is 12 wks old. We have had Beau since he was 7-1/2 wks and he has had virtually no accidents in the house and is even asking to be let out HOWEVER every opportunity in the kennel he pees. When he first came home for about a week no accidents. Now he pees every night and every day while we are at work. I got my first boxer at 12 weeks (Oscar) and he never had any accidents. We have tried taking away water at 8:00pm and still nothing. I was getting up with him every night but he wanted to play not potty. I have tried every trick I know to make him comfortable in the kennel and he still seems to hate it and cry every time he is in it. He eventually settles down but always pees. I would be greatful for any ideas anyone may have. Thanks!

 

[apollosdad]

you could try taking him outside while on a lead and having him go in a certain area. only allowing him enough slack to circle around where you are standing. if after a few minutes he does not go, simply place him back in his crate and try again later. repeat the process until he pees and praise him by making a big deal. this will help him associate with going out and relieving himself after he gets out of his crate as being the first thing he has to do. do not allow him to play until after he goes out and relieves himself. this is part of the "nothing in life is free" training style, where the dog is taught that he must "do something" in order to "get something." another example would be to have him start getting used to "sitting" in front of any door before it is opened. be sure to go through the doorway first and have him follow in order to establish and maintain your role as pack leader. these are good basic points to help you in training your boxer.
also, since you didn't mention it in your first post, i just want o make sure i didn't overlook anything. do you use a odor deodorizer on the spots that he eliminates on in the house, such as, floor, kennel, carpet?

 

[os&bo's mom]

The problem doesn't apply all the time. He asks to be let out when he's out of the crate but during the day and night when he is in the crate, he always pees. I guess I'm just not sure how long a period they can make it at 12 wks. when my 9 year old was the same age, he never messed his crate... Also, accidents aren't much of an issue in the house but if you have a recommendation of an odor remover, I would appreciate it.

 

[Daniel/Sarah]

suggestions

albeit Sarah and I are newbies at this, but Winston is currently being crate trained as well. Winston is just over 7 weeks old. The crate is adjusted to his size. At night, he lets us know when he has to go by whining. We pick him up immediately out of the crate and immediately go outside. He does his business and we give him lots and lots of praise and if i remembered to grab one, a treat. We come back inside and its immediately back into his crate. About 5 minutes of whining, then he settles down. I need to mention that his favorite blanket is in there.

During the day has been different. One of us is home usually, but we are trying to get him to adapt to the crate. A couple of times a day, we put him in there to give us a little rest. Does NOT like the crate, whines like he is possessed, but eventually will settle down. The past few times, we noticed he peed in his crate. :(. We had kept the blanket in there, and i believe that he feels that it is okay to pee on the blanket. A lot easier to have the blanket soak up his pee than to hold his bladder, i guess. But still doesnt make sense why he doesnt pee on the blanket at night??? So, during the day, we take the blanket out of his crate and only put it back in there at night. Yesterday was the first day that we tried this, and it seemed to work. Just thought that i would send this and it may help. Good luck.

 

[apollosdad]

well, at twelve weeks, the general rule of thumb is that they can hold it for about four hours. however, every dog is different, so it's just a general reference to use.
in regards to the odor remover, i only asked because sometimes when one is not used in the area where they eliminated, the odor is not completely removed. they then return to pee or poop in the same spot. i use one from petsmart called simple solutions.

 

[dalton100]

Whats in the crate?

My 10 week old has had many problems "going" in his crate. I took some advice and took everything comfortable (bedding) out of his crate and we have not had any problems for 2 days now. All I put in there is a chew toy or 2. I also feed him in there every other day and it has seemed to help. Then again, he sleeps with us at night and is only crated during the day if we are not home. He has held it through the entire night for almost a full week now. Maybe we are spoiling him a little, but I know now that he can hold it for up to 7 hours if he is sleeping. Good luck.

 

[os&bo's mom]

Thanks for the idea about removing bedding from his kennel. I am going to try that this week and see what happens. It's worth a try. As a sidebar, we wondered how long he could hold it if he wasn't in the crate. He has slept in hour bedroom with Oscar the last 2 nights and made it the whole night. On the first night, my husband got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and woke Beau up and he took him out. No one got up last night and Beau made it through the whole night. Not sure if that means anything or not. I think we are going to let him sleep in our room for a while and see how it works. He spends 8 hours a day in the kennel as it is, I would rather leave him out at night if he can be trusted

 

[dalton100]

so far so good

Since I removed the bedding from the crate, no accidents! I don't normally leave him in there for more than 4 hours a day, but it was getting annoying to clean the crate every time. Anyway, thanks for the advice. I have noticed that I am also becoming a little lax about watching him sometimes. He has held it through the night for a week or so now, and it seems that whenever I get complacent, he reminds me that he is still a pup! Just a word of advice, if he is good for 2 days or so..keep your eye on him! Good luck to all.