Accidents in the crate...

[OliviaB]

Belle has been with us for 2 weeks now. She's absolutely the perfect dog. The ONLY issue we have is that she still uses her crate as a potty. When she's free in the house she's perfectly potty trained. She holds it and goes to the door when she needs to go outside. As soon as we crate her though, odds are that she will pee and sometimes even poop. It's very frustrating. Every morning I have to clean it up and anytime we put her in it during the day she goes. My husband took her outside this morning and met me for lunch. We came home 2 hours later and she had peed and pooped. I'm out of ideas on how to fix this. The person who owned her before crated her a lot for his job so I think she just got used to using it as a potty. How can I train her that it's NOT her bathroom? We've fed her in there, I make sure to clean it thoroughly, etc. Nothing is helping

 

[Cali Doll]

Can you put her in a room, such as the bathroom, instead of the crate? What about using a puppy playpen instead of a crate? It's bigger and doesn't have a tray bottom. It's like a toddler playpen. I know it's riskier because of the lack of tray, but maybe she wouldn't potty in it.

 

[OliviaB]

We tried to leave her out alone one day for about 20 minutes. When we came home, she had peed on the carpet and pooped in our room. To be completely honest we have a brand new house with new carpet and I can't risk having it ruined by her accidents. I think it's all related to separation anxiety since she never has an accident with us home. How can I help her with that?

 

[Cali Doll]

I'm far from an expert, but maybe try leaving her in the crate for short periods (10 minutes, etc) and giving her high-value treats when she doesn't potty. Then gradually increase from 10 minutes.

 

[Miss Lola]

How old is she? We had this same problem and had to put the crates away for awhile. The crate was the toilet. We would put it away for a few weeks and try it again. Then one day they just stopped and we never had another accident in the crate. We also have a new house and we just started taking them everywhere with us so they were never left at home alone.

 

[OliviaB]

She's 9 months old, but we've only had her for 2 weeks. She was returned to her breeder by the original owner because he got divorced and had to take on two jobs. She spent the majority of every day in a crate which is what caused these issues. She got used to soiling it during the day and lost the instinct to keep it clean. When we are home she's fine and never has an accident in the house. If we aren't with her though, she's going to use the bathroom. I know some of it is separation anxiety but I don't know how to help her. I thought about leaving her free in the house at night to be with us, but honestly that scares me. If she pees in the night I'm not going to know where..we would just start smelling pee and that could easily ruin the new carpet Also, at times it will be necessary for her to be alone. It's not often, but I don't want to be a prisoner at my own house and places like our church don't allow dogs

 

[madie4589]

as we all know bulldogs are very sensitive, and do not deal well with change, she could still be getting settled into her new routine with your family. In the bully rescue group here in columbus, I see a lot of bulldogs coming from bad situations who take months and months to truly come out of their shell and be the dog they truly are. I know she is wonderful in every other way but this could still be a part of her settling in. I am hoping it's not totally ingrained in her to always use the crate as a potty. I totally agree that crate training is essential even if not used often, incase they are injured and need to be crated at the vet! I am hoping that in time you will see her progress. Also hoping someone has more insight on separation anxiety.

could you try using a playpen in the kitchen? at least if she goes to the bathroom, it will be easier to clean up.

 

[OliviaB]

A playpen really isn't an option...we have a living area downstairs that is totally tiled. We have talked about shutting her down there when we leave. She would be out free but would still be on tile so it's easier to clean. I just feel like every time she has an accident we are going backwards. When we first got her, she had accidents in the crate maybe 50% of the time. Now it's more like 90% of the time. I took her out this morning at 2 AM and she peed and pooped. I woke up at 7 and she had peed and pooped a small amount in her kennel. I know it's not because she can't hold it...it's behavioral. I just have to figure it out. We love her and will do everything we can to get it resolved.

 

[OliviaB]

double post

 

[2BullyMama]

A playpen really isn't an option...we have a living area downstairs that is totally tiled. We have talked about shutting her down there when we leave. She would be out free but would still be on tile so it's easier to clean. I just feel like every time she has an accident we are going backwards. When we first got her, she had accidents in the crate maybe 50% of the time. Now it's more like 90% of the time. I took her out this morning at 2 AM and she peed and pooped. I woke up at 7 and she had peed and pooped a small amount in her kennel. I know it's not because she can't hold it...it's behavioral. I just have to figure it out. We love her and will do everything we can to get it resolved.

does the crate have any bedding in it? if yes, remove it sometimes, they just need to be on the tray and no bedding as for some reason they just like going on the bedding. i also like the idea of placing her in there for like 10 mins -- leave the room and wen you come back, if not accident - high praise and a treat

 

[OliviaB]

We took out the bedding and it didn't make a difference...she pees and poops regardless of that. I will try your suggestion...I guess I just don't know how she will know what I'm praising her for. It's worth a shot though

 

[Davidh]

That is a tough one, but try what [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] suggest and maybe it will work. Slowly increase the time she is in there to see if she will get it.

 

[Tracy361]

Remy had the same problem. Our breeder would leave the pee pads where the puppies would sleep and Remy just got used to peeing any where she slept. Grr. So we had to kick that habit out and take her out before she had an accident. That meant every hour at night. I praised her softly. I didnt want to get overly excited bc i didnt want her to think it's a party in the middle of the night. And every week or 2 I would increase the time by an hour. If she had an accident when transitioning, I would go back to the previous hour where she did good for another week. I was a zombie for a few months but in the end it was well worth it bc she's now 7 months and can hold it for 6-8hrs. Ahh. Sleep. As for during the day, Id take her out every 30 minutes and after every drink/play and highly praise her w whatever she responds to the most, whether it be treats, petting, etc. Oh and I don't let her drink after 9. Her bed time is at 10 so I'd take her out right before we put her to sleep.
Good luck!

 

[OliviaB]

Thanks everyone! Fortunately I think we have solved the problem. Her crate is big enough where she could get away from the mess so I added a wire divider into it. She has enough room to stand up and turn around but that's it. Since adding the divider, she hasn't had a single accident. Hopefully once she breaks the habit I can take the divider out and give her the room back. At night she's no longer crated and is happily sleeping in our bed with no problems

 

[2bulldogsstuff]

does the crate have any bedding in it? if yes, remove it sometimes, they just need to be on the tray and no bedding as for some reason they just like going on the bedding. i also like the idea of placing her in there for like 10 mins -- leave the room and wen you come back, if not accident - high praise and a treat

Brett peed too if I put a crate bed inside of a blanket but when there's no bed inside the crate he doesn't have accidents.