Do you crate at night?

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Baxter Tiberius

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Well, Baxter has been fully potty trained about 15 times, only to revert back to 100% zero.

He has a crate with "pen" area. This is directly connected to a doggy door. And a patch of grass on the balcony. Despite this, I wake up every morning with pee all over the floor. Sometimes poop. Even though he's less than 2 feet from the doggy door. During the day, he goes wherever he wants, whenever he wants. After 8 months of daily training, it has been 100% wasted effort.

I've used treats, praise, positive reinforcement, even 4-5 walks down 22 floors and over to the little park nearby. Half my day is still dedicated to making sure Baxter doesn't piss or poop in my living room. Its like we never graduated past puppy phase, and I am still having to "leash" him to myself, watch him like a hawk, meticulously time his meals, and can get very little work done in my office.

After 8 months of this I have come to my wits end.

So I decided that I am going to crate him at night, with a divider. Only room enough to turn around. No bedding. Hopefully force him to learn to hold it.

He usually does well the first couple days, then suddenly gets lazy, and stops trying. Back to "doing whatever he wants". The first night he didn't pee his crate. I was awestruck.
The second night I saw a bone dry crate again. But he himself reeked pungently of urine. I didn't see any runoff in the crate or anything. Maybe he laid in it and soaked it all up.
Tonight is night # 3. Fingers crossed.

I make sure to bring him manually to the patch of grass 2-3 times before bed, to try and get as much pee out as possible, and I rarely sleep longer than 6-8 hours. So at his age, he should be able to hold at least 6 hours. Especially when he hasn't had any liquids for nearly 5 hours before his last pee at bedtime. Yet I'd still wake up to 1 or 2 pees on the floor. So in his crate he goes now.

How many of you came to the conclusion that this must be the "arrangement" into perpetuity for your bully? Even after 1 year of age, 2 years of age, etc?
 
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Jennifer Clark

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No he hasn't been in crate in over a year

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Baxter Tiberius

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[MENTION=8610]Jennifer Clark[/MENTION]
Until what age though? How old is he now.
 

Vikinggirl

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Hi, we do crate them at night or when we go out, but not because they have accidents in the house, it's for their safety, as they eat things like sweat socks, and chew things like electrical wires. Dozer loves to chew the wires on my lamp. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with training. It sounds like you've done everything right with the training process, but he's not following through or getting it. How old was he when you first got him? Did you puppy pad train him first, and then try with the grass patch on the balcony? Maybe he's confused about sometimes going on the balcony, and then being taken outside? I would try going back to basics, take him out every hour or two, and take him outside, not the balcony. Reward him with treats, and crate him at night, and see how he does. Has he been checked for a bladder infection? I'm sorry you're going through this with Baxter, I hope you find a solution, and he learns to hold. Please keep us posted on how he does. Hopefully some other members that may have more experience will come along soon with some advice.
 
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Baxter Tiberius

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He's been checked for UTI several times in the past but I'll ask the vet about the yellow/red goop and the inability to hold his pee.
Admittedly, he has emptied out right on my foot a couple times.
He looks up at me with horror in his face, so there's definitely a sense of "crap! crap! crap!" coming from him as its happening.
But he also will just squat and take a crap right in the living room floor when he could walk 20 feet further to his doggy door.
So its been quite a brain twister. Can't tell if its laziness, UTI, stubbornnes, random brain farts, or just not that intelligent.
Seems to be no rhyme or pattern at all.
 

Vikinggirl

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Im so sorry, don't know what else to suggest. It must be so frustrating, for both of you. He probably feels bad for doing this as well. So hard. I hope the vet can give you some answers.
 

HTX Bully

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I would give him some cranberry pills in his food for the next couple feedings. Won't hurt to try.

We crate Holly the destroyer most for safety reasons when we are not here and at night. When she is bored/lonely/whatever it may be she gets her self into shenanigans. Also, she used to have bedding in her crate and would pee all over it. She pooped once and I was mortified that she was in there with her poop! We took the bedding away and she has never gone potty in her crate again. Holly will be 2 in April.

You've tried treats after every pee n poop? That's what sealed the deal for Holly. We did this for awhile and slowly decreased the treats. Sometimes Hollys mom still gives her treats for peeing n pooping outside. Hollys mom is like a treat monster. Good luck :)
 
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Baxter Tiberius

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Yep definitely did the treats thing, at the designated location, I'd say ... at least ... 200 or 300 times over the last 8 months. You can find threads of me on here telling people how great it works ! LOL ... (for awhile at least).

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Well night # 3: He didn't pee in his crate! :-O

When I let him out, I took him to potty. He got a treat. Big praise! I was amazed.

Then we walked back in the house, I went to wipe up his crate (of fur) and he pissed all over the floor next to me as I was cleaning the crate.

Now why did he do that? :)

My dog whisperer side came up with this doozy:

He associates the crate with some negativity, and doesn't want to be put back in there, so he reacts with submissive peeing (something he does constantly), out of fear that he would be put back in the crate.

I think that may be what happened.

But why didn't he fully pee when he went outside? Part of me wonders if they instinctively don't pee everything out, so they can keep squirting more when "marking" time comes.
 
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ddnene

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I had Winston potty trained at about 10 months… Bella even earlier, but they both had Roxie to watch and learn from. Are you sure that Baxter doesn't have something going on? An infection or something?!! It seems weird that he would pee on your shoe, and know that he did something wrong… like he can't hold it or something? Every time I've had an animal & they started peeing everywhere something medically was going wrong...
 

Manydogs

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but I'll ask the vet about the yellow/red goop
Kevin, you had this above in your post-what is that about?
Also, male dogs have sort of like little "segments" in their urethra(picture a tiny string of old fashioned hot dogs-how they used to be connected) as you said-so they always have a little store of urine-and they can "mark". Although I don't think that is what Baxter is doing. Marking is not usually a "full puddle". Have you tried puppy pads, or the quilted, washable pads? I have never trained a dog who does not go outside-so I am sure it is very difficult. Baxter has been through alot in his short life-he was a very sick little boy. Perhaps this has caused some issues for him-either physical or mental.
I crate my dogs every night. Have done it since they were pups, and they are just used to it. I have two that I do not trust, if I leave, and will crate. One of them, sometimes WILL pee(1 pee) in the crate-she is 16 mo.but I think she does it because she sulks.She never has an "accident" in the house-but I crate because she eats things! The 8 month old goes outside-only rarely will she go on a puppy pad-I guess that would be my fault. This is quite a puzzle with Baxter-seems there IS a solution-just needs to be figured out.....somehow.
 
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I crate at night, set my alarm to wake up at 3am and 6am to let Ace out. I only leave a Nylabone in there, nothing that he could destroy and eat. It's rare ace has accidents :). He does not cry anymore, and it's his safe place. I never use his crate as a time out.


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cefe13

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No, no crate here.

Poor little Baxter, and this must be so frustrating for both of you. Even though you're high up, I would try to get him outside to the park instead of having the grass patch on the balcony. Could you start all over again, as Vikinggirl suggests, and take Baxter outside once an hour, then every second hour, etc., for a week or so, to see if that will help encourage him to do his business outdoors?

It might work well for dogs to have a patch on the balcony - I don't know - but by not going outdoors to do his business, it seems to me that Baxter might miss out on the 'social' aspect of peeing for dogs, which in turn might make him less clear about where to go. If he were to go out every time, and if there is grass/trees, etc. close to where you live, might he not find it more rewarding to pee where other dogs have been? My dog is now almost ten months old and his potty behaviour has developed a lot during the last few months. At five months, he started to lift his leg and soon he began to sniff around for a good spot instead of just sitting down when he needed. Nowadays, he has specific trees, lamp posts and bushes that he checks out every day.
 
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Baxter Tiberius

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Four nights in a row, and no accidents all night! I am amazed! But I am holding my horses because he's had longer stretches than this, only to completely fall apart later.

This is the first time in 8 months I've woken up and not had to clean pee and poop off the floor for 20 minutes in the morning. I feel like im living in a dream.

He doesn't seem to get upset in the crate either. He just curls up and goes to sleep.
 

anatess

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My dogs sleep in their crates by their own choice. The door is open yet they sleep in there all night long or even during the day if I'm out.

As far as potty training, I have a feeling that it is not that he doesn't know where to go. I believe it is more that he can't help it. If he hasn't done this in months it means he knows what the doggie door is for. They don't just all of a sudden forget that they pee/poop outside... it comes to a point where it is instinctive and him showing that he knew he was doing something wrong yet can't help it further shows that he can't help it for some reason. Peeing and pooping both? That is not a good sign. Was his poop normal? Or was that soft poop?

Something is wrong and I don't think the crate is your solution in this situation. The vet might be able to give you insights on what could be wrong.
 

Jennifer Clark

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[MENTION=8610]Jennifer Clark[/MENTION]
Until what age though? How old is he now.

Sheldon is just over two years old now we crated him for about a year but only when we weren't home until he proved he could be trusted.

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