refusing crate training

[HarveysDaddy]

We took in a 7-week-old boxer named Harvey a few days ago. I've successfully (and quickly) potty trained two other dogs through crate training. Harvey has been here for 4 nights now and he seems to be refusing it. The first night, he whined for about an hour after I left him in his crate. Totally normal. The second night, only a few minutes, and now he just plops down and goes to sleep when I tell him it's bedtime. The problem isn't getting him into the crate or to stop whining, the problem is to get him to stop eliminating in his crate. I've never had a puppy eliminate in their crate before but he manages to do so multiple times every night.

He goes outside and relieves himself just before bedtime. My wife and I get up twice throughout the night to let him out and every time, he's managed to go "number one" in his crate. His crate isn't too big, he only has enough space to stand up, turn around, and stretch out laying down. The first night, I thought maybe the soft blankets were enticing him to go in there, so I removed them. This didn't help. When I get up in the middle of the night, there is always potty in the crate. I clean it out, scrub it down with disinfectant, and then he just goes potty in his crate again between the time he falls asleep and the time I wake up again to take him out.

He sleeps in his crate at night, he naps in his crate during the day, and we've been feeding him in his crate since the day we got him. He has a few toys in there as well.

Any ideas as to why he keeps eliminating in his crate? Should I just get up 3 or even 4 times per night to let him outside? I've never had a dog go potty in his crate, so I'm kind of at a loss for what to do. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

He's only 7 weeks old. Really at this point that's like asking your 2 month old human baby to stop going in their diaper and start going in the toilet...it's just simply not going to happen unless you physically put them there. If he's going in his crate then you are leaving him in there too long. A pup at that age will probably need to get up every 2 hours or so in the middle of the night (yep you get to set your alarm and get up fun times!) if you get up in 2 hours and he's already gone then it needs to be an hour and a half and just keep adjusting until you get there before he goes.

Quite frankly he's simply way too young to be expected to hold it it's up to you to get to him before he has to go, if you don't he's going to go in the crate. Also the crate may be too big. It should be just big enough for him to stand up, lay down, and turn around in and no bigger. But like I said he's really too young, until he's older it's up to you to get him out of the crate before he's had to go and gone.

 

[Caney Creek]

That's a bit odd that he's doing it despite going out twice during the night, but he is very young too -- usually breeders will not let pups go to new homes until they are 8 weeks old. If he was kept in close quarters at the breeder's and his living space was not cleaned frequently there he could also have been accustomed to eliminating where he sleeps so it's not such a big deal for him now. I guess the only thing you can do is take him out more often during the night and see if that helps. No fun I know, but best to nip this in the bud now rather than let him continue on with his current "routine" of going in the crate.

Also make sure you clean the crate and bedding thoroughly with an enzyme-based pet odor remover such as Nature's Miracle so that he isn't smelling his old accidents. Don't use any cleaner that contains ammonia because there is ammonia in urine.

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

You also may want to pull up water 2-3 hours before you go to bed. Not sure how many hours you sleep so saying you get up twice a night doesn't mean much to me (if you sleep 12 hours versus 6 hours there's a big difference). How many hours are between each time?

Good luck!

 

[HarveysDaddy]

His crate definitely isn't too big. I'm going to try going from twice a night to once every 2-2.5 hours and see how things go. I picked up some enzyme-based pet odor cleaning products earlier today, both for hand use and for our steam cleaner to use on the carpet in case of any accidents.

I'll give the new schedule a go tonight and let you all know how he does.

 

[HarveysDaddy]

Harvey didn't go potty in his crate at all last night. I got up every 2.5 hours to let him out and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. The first few times, I took him outside, said, "Go potty," and he immediately plopped back down and started snoozing as soon as his paws hit the grass, .

Looks like I'm going to be napping with Harvey today.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Caney Creek]

Harvey didn't go potty in his crate at all last night. I got up every 2.5 hours to let him out and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. The first few times, I took him outside, said, "Go potty," and he immediately plopped back down and started snoozing as soon as his paws hit the grass, .

Looks like I'm going to be napping with Harvey today.

Thanks for the help!

Hey, at least there were no accidents! appicon Way to go!