Pees in crate and destruction

[sherryberry]

Hey everyone,

I haven't posted here in awhile, our girl is 6 years old but 6 months ago we adopted a 6 month old boy from a Rescue. He was apparently left for so long crated I think on someones porch? I don't know all the details but they rescued him from those people and he was so skinny.
He had potty issues when we got him, and seemed to improve but he still pees in his crate. He's only in there at night from about 10:30-7:00 and for 3 hours max in the day. I think its an issue from his past that he's okay with pee because he will lay in a dried pee puddle on the patio outside (he will poop in the grass/rocks but will also pee on the top step by the door and on the patio), and he will run outside with a toy, drop it, pee and get it on the toy then pick it up with his mouth like nothing happened!

His other issue is he completely destroys blankets in his crate, and I hate not giving him anything, he whines and looks so uncomfortable. We cannot trust him out of the crate, he will eat the couch and destroy anything and everything and he eats socks and things. So he gets crated if we cannot watch him.

Im dreading opening our pool up for summer because I know if we take our flip flops off, put goggles by the side of the pool, pool noodles, floats, as soon as we are swimming and not looking he will take off and chew them to pieces. We have tried a spray bottle, telling him No, trying to leave a leash on him but its hard to not be able to turn your head for 30 seconds without him getting into something!!

Any advice? I feel like his first 6 months he didnt learn any manners or potty skills . He won't potty in the house anymore unless he's excited but he will where he lays. and he will go in his crate willingly at bedtimes or to chew a bone or kong. So he must see it as his den?

Thanks for listening !!

 

[brodieboxer]

Remove all blankets/beds in his crate ASAP. Your dog hasn't earned this privilege if he's destroying them. It won't hurt him to be without. It will also remove the padding for the pee to soak into, making it more uncomfortable to lay in the crate in pee. Have you had him checked for a UTI? If not, I would, if only to rule out a medical reason. Make sure that every "accident" is cleaned up promptly with an enzyme cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle, so that the dog learns to see clean and dry as the norm, rather than pee/poo. Since he has learned not to expect a clean kennel, due to his rough past, it will take more time and patience to reverse this mindset than normal.

Take him out on leash to pee/poo to teach him the proper place to do his business. A friend of mine did this with a new boxer for six weeks, taking him to the same place (of her choice in the back of her yard away from the house). After this time, the dog naturally went there. It will probably take your dog longer b/c of previous habits. Thoroughly clean the step/patio area. It's very important not to let him go there anymore. It's unhealthy - you could be tracking in this into your house, too!

You will HAVE to boxer-proof your pool area this summer, and you MUST train your family members to be consistent in not leaving their things within reach of your dog. Every time the dog tears something up, it delays the breaking of this self - rewarding habit. I would also not let the dog drink the pool water. It's not good for him, and it will increase his urination - not what you need right now! You may need to crate the dog while swimming to make sure he's not getting into stuff while you can't directly supervise him.

 

[SherylM]

Ugh! I'm sorry you're having a hard time. My Lucy is a rescue from a puppy mill so peeing in her crate never bothered her either. What we did was take away her blankets in the crate. She would have to lay in the pee until we got home. This meant a lot of baths and wipe downs! Once we realized that she "could" hold it and her issues were more separation anxiety than anything we gave her blankets back. This way she peed on them and then pushed them out of the way, so no need to bath her every day. Sometimes we were only gone for an hour and she'd pee in her crate. Unfortunately there was no magic cure for her. It took her about two years before it stopped. And she decided this on her own in her own time. And we never, ever scolded her for it. It was just a non issue so she got no attention from it. Hope things get sorted out for you faster than it did for Lucy