Almost 2 and still peeing/pooping in crate

[Baxter Tiberius]

Woke up this morning to this. Again.

Suggestions?

1) Usually he has no bedding. Seems to work. But clearly wakes up with painful joints. (walks around like an old man with painful joints when i let him out in the mornings). He clearly is uncomfortable all night and does not sleep when there's no padding. Because the next day he's so wiped out it was obvious he hadn't slept at all. I feel terrible as it seems like torture. So sometimes I try with padding, and this happens every time.

2) He's on a reliable schedule. I'm the only dog owner I know that takes his adult dog out to potty 3-5 times a day (and I work from home). Doesn't matter. He does what he wants when I'm not in the room.

3) I literally take him out at the very last minute of my day, and I am up rarely more than 7 hours later. Doesn't matter. If there's bedding, theres pee. Or poop.

4) I restrict his water intake drastically in the afternoons/evenings. He's clearly thirsty but I don't let him drink. Doesn't matter. Again - i feel like im torturing him to address this problem.

5) When I take him out he acts like he's done. I've given him 45 minutes on some walks. While 20 other dog owners come out, go potty, and go back inside, there's me and Baxter still standing there waiting for him to finish. Oh and then he'll pee in his crate overnight (if there's bedding).

6) I am the only dog owner I know who had to potty train daily up to the 1 year of age mark. And now we are at nearly 2 years and I'm still having to deal with this. I doubt you could suggest anything I have not tried.

I guess he's going to sleep on a painful hard surface while dehydrated every night. Its really ridiculous that he sabotages himself like this. You'd think he'd get cause/effect eventually, but he's not getting it.

 

[brutus77]

My Brutus would have accidents on crate bedding as well. I took it out and he was better. Brutus is also 2. He does not sleep in his crate though. the only time he is in the crate is when we are not home. He sleeps on the couch at night. Can Baxter be trusted to sleep on a dog bed in your room?

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

My Brutus would have accidents on crate bedding as well. I took it out and he was better. Brutus is also 2. He does not sleep in his crate though. the only time he is in the crate is when we are not home. He sleeps on the couch at night. Can Baxter be trusted to sleep on a dog bed in your room?

Hmm. Well he's a bit noisy for me to sleep in the same room. Im a very light sleeper and his snoring would keep me awake. I've had some luck putting a cushiony surface in the crate that has a plastic texture. It was basically a rubber covered pad. This seemed to work, while not destroying his joints so much.

But its really kind of ridiculous that we have to do all this. I guess that's part of owning this breed? When I let him out of the crate with happy smiles and "good morning!" he slinks off across the room in shame. Before I even know whats up. He knows he did something wrong. Still does it the next day.

I can't count the conversations I've had with other dog owners who look at me strange when I tell them I had to potty train daily for an entire year. I love baxter and I love this breed but this aspect of it kind of reminds me of major behavioral dysfunctions.

I mean he's almost 2 ... he's an adult. There's no reason for this. The sheer amount of effort I have had to pour into him is astronomical. And that's an understatement.

 

[brutus77]

Have you ever had his hips and spine checked for birth defects? I know certain spinal defects can lead to incontinence. I ask this because Brutus was trained since he was very small. He would chew or pee on his bedding but never poop. At 2 he should have complete control. The fact that he looks guilty leads me to believe he knows it is wrong, but maybe he can't help it? Does he have accidents any where else?

 

[Baxter Tiberius]

No hip or health problems. He's just an english bulldog.

I've read several threads here where people say their dog can never have bedding because they will continue to go in their crate.

I haven't figured out of its stubbornness or just lack of awareness / inability to learn. Or a combination of both.

I've also spoken to several EB owners in person who laughingly said their EB failed out of doggy training class. One said theirs failed 3 times.

I dont know how a dog "fails" a class but i think 3 trainers gave up, basically. That should tell us something.

In fact i *just* got out of the elevator with a girl who said they have an EB - and let out this huge sigh of exhaustion. I knew exactly what she meant without her having to explain. She politely said "We're still learning ..."

I get it.

 

[brutus77]

Well having an EB is like having a perpetual 2yr old child. I think yours may be more stubborn than most though. I really don't think it is a lack of awareness or an inability to learn. mine are exceptionally smart and training was a breeze, however, when they feel like not listening, they will push boundaries. It is always a constant training session. I must win the argument every time or it is over. As you know, having an EB is a major commitment. Maybe the girl in the elevator should shoot for a poodle next time around??

 

[dolphin]

Well having an EB is like having a perpetual 2yr old child.

no truer words have ever been typed before!!!!!!!

 

[WifeofPA]

I can't tell how big the crate is from the pic of the pad but perhaps downsizing if possible, leaving him little room to mess?

GL

 

[brutus77]

Baxter is a full grown bulldog, he needs to stay in the crate he is in. He cannot go smaller.

 

[2BullyMama]

it also took me two full years to train my French Bulldog --- he would look right at me and pee or poo -- hence, his nick-name 'stink bear'. No bedding for those two years either.... I have been lucky with all 3 of my Bulldogs as they have picked up on the potty thing within the first few months.

 

[JennieS]

I had a hard time potty training Ruthie. She would go in her crate all the time. What i finally had to do, after LOTS of trial and error, was block off her crate so she could ONLY lay down to sleep and turn around. no more sprawling out for her. I also took away her bedding, but I felt awful so that only lasted only 1 night. After i left her with no space, she never went in her crate again and i was able to open the whole thing up to her.
We had to potty train her for about a year, she finally got it. We got her a 9-10 months old and she was a puppy mill dog who went potty anywhere she could.
maybe he's just acting out and wants to be near you at night. Could you move the crate to your room or give him something that smells like you for him to sleep with?

 

[cefe13]

Is he comfortable outdoors and in meeting other dogs? Is he sniffing around and peeing/marking where other dogs have been? If not, could it be that he is afraid of going outdoors?

 

[dalmatina38]

Amber is 4 years old and still pees at night on bedding if she gets cold. We cannot have the fan on in the livingroom or she will pee. As for the crates, both my girls are in the crate during the day because both of them lose would mean my house in ruins so until I get home from work they are crated. No bedding in the crates at all because mine will just rip it to pieces. Ruby is 2 years old and never has any accidents no matter what the temperature is in the house. One draft and Amber pees and i know when it happens because I can hear her get up and walk around on the wood floors to find something else to sleep on. She lost her loveseat for two months over this issue and I bought a 5 inch mattress and put it on the floor for her because I was cleaning the loveseat non-stop during the winter. Check for drafts. Good luck.

 

[Davidh]

I've said it once and I'll say it again, "Never ever restrict water from them, it does not help with potty training!"

 

[OliviaB]

I can relate to what you're going through. We brought Belle home when she was 10 months old. She was completely potty trained UNLESS she was in the kennel. It didn't matter if she was crated for 20 minutes or two hours...she pooped and peed every time. This is what worked for us. In less than 2 months she is now completely potty trained and never has an accident.
* Divided her crate...they should have enough room to turn around and lay down. Anything bigger will hurt potty training because they can get away from the mess. Put a divider in the crate and give him less room.
* Stopped crating her at night...she sleeps in our bed now. This alone made the biggest difference. She was much happier and secure with her place in our family. She (like most EBs) wanted to be with her people and not being around us caused her anxiety which led to accidents. Since we only crate her when we are gone now, she never has an accident.

Good luck.