FED UP with the potty issues!

[OliviaB]

Let me start by saying that we love Belle dearly and would never think of giving her up. She's perfect aside from this one issue and we are willing to work on it, but honestly we are fed up and out of ideas. The backstory...we got Belle when she was 10 months old back in Feb of this year. She was first owned by a man who got divorced and ended up working two jobs. As a result, Belle was confined for most of the day to her crate and learned to potty in it. She is almost a year old now (May 16) and the potty issues are really wearing us down. When we are with her and she's out free in the house she's great. She will go to the door and let us know when she has to go out. She can hold it for a long time and usually only goes out 2-3 times during a normal day. HOWEVER, in the crate, she goes no matter what. For example, this afternoon I took her out to potty, she peed, and then we crated her. We took our kids out for ice cream and were gone for maybe 30 minutes. As soon as we walked in the door, we could smell that she had pooped AND peed
We have tried everything that I can think of. Leaving her out free in the house isn't an option for several reasons...the biggest one being that we have brand new carpet and I can't trust her not to mess on it when she's alone. She's also a chewer and I'm afraid she could ingest something harmful if we aren't around to supervise. She peed the other day by the front door for no apparent reason so I know she can't be left out by herself.
This is what we've already tried:
* No UTI...we've checked and even did a round of antibiotics just in case
* Made the crate smaller...didn't matter. Just made a bigger mess since she was forced to sit in it.
* Gave her a toy/treat...she just peed on it.
* Took away bedding....made a bigger mess.
* Left bedding....used it to cover mess and pushed it to the corner.
* Rewarded for small times of being in the crate with no accidents. As soon as we leave the house, she potties.
* Fed in the crate. Doesn't make a difference.
* Left TV on to help with possible anxiety
She doesn't seem scared at all or nervous when we leave. She happily goes into her crate and is calm. We just almost always come home to a huge mess. Any ideas?? We are feeling like prisoners to our dog because anytime we leave we know what we will come home to. Sorry this is long but I felt like the details are important. HELP!!!!

 

[TyTysmom]

Ok, looks like you've checked off all the basics which is great. I don't have much experience with potty issues - but just thinking here... how about instead of the crate, can you enclose her in a certain area with gates? Like baby gates or something, in a safe area of course... no toys, etc. (Like the kitchen maybe?) -- I'm just thinking maybe its the crate itself? Just thoughts. You can leave the crate there too within the area, and open... just to experiment & see?

 

[OliviaB]

Ok, looks like you've checked off all the basics which is great. I don't have much experience with potty issues - but just thinking here... how about instead of the crate, can you enclose her in a certain area with gates? Like baby gates or something, in a safe area of course... no toys, etc. (Like the kitchen maybe?) -- I'm just thinking maybe its the crate itself? Just thoughts.

There really isn't anywhere in the house to enclose her. We have a large house with an open floor plan..plus we really need her to be crate trained because we like to travel and sometimes the crate is just a necessity. It seems to be the issue of being alone as opposed to the crate itself although she doesn't show any obvious signs of stress or anxiety when we leave. I can't figure her out. She KNOWS when she messes up because we walk in she's already hanging her head and cowering in the corner. I'm even wondering if the previous owner hit her when she had accidents. Breaks my heart to think that but she acts like she's expecting to get hit... I've tried everything I can think of but I'm totally lost on what to do with her. It's just ridiculous that we can't leave our house for 30 minutes without an accident though.

 

[cali baker]

Just thinking of the obvious here and maybe you've already done this but make sure you have cleaned Belle's crate thoroughly with a cleaner that doesn't contain ammonia. If Belle still detects the urine scent in her crate, she may think it's okay to keep peeing there. There are lots of good pet urine odor removers on the market that u can try.

It sounds like you are trying very hard to help your sweet girl go where she's supposed to and hopefully other members will be able to give you some advice soon.

 

[OliviaB]

Just thinking of the obvious here and maybe you've already done this but make sure you have cleaned Belle's crate thoroughly with a cleaner that doesn't contain ammonia. If Belle still detects the urine scent in her crate, she may think it's okay to keep peeing there. There are lots of good pet urine odor removers on the market that u can try.

It sounds like you are trying very hard to help your sweet girl go where she's supposed to and hopefully other members will be able to give you some advice soon.

Yup, I'm a clean freak so I clean it really well with a pet urine cleaner and follow that up with a vinegar solution. I even bought another tray because I have to clean it so often...that way I always have a clean one waiting on deck

 

[Donnam]

Okay--darn it, it sounds like you've done everything. I was going to make the suggestion that Monica made about enclosing her in a safe area. The only other thing I can think that might possibly work is to get a pair of tinkle trousers. You can read about them and buy them at tinkletrousers.com. I used them on my boxer who was incontinent before she died. The reason I suggest those is because I remember reading a couple of reviews on the website saying that it helped with potty training issues. You could put it on her before you put her in the crate (I would do it several times) and see if she stops peeing. She may not like wearing a wet diaper. And this garment is very secure, she won't be able to get out of it. [MENTION=1904]cali baker[/MENTION] has been using them on Finn. What do you think Henny?

 

[cali baker]

[MENTION=13734]OliviaB[/MENTION], I think Donna's suggestion on the Tinkle Trouser is a very good one!! Yes, I've been using this on Finn b/c he was peeing in his sleep for several days in a row, just came out of the blue, and I noticed when he had the trouser on, he didn't pee in his sleep. Having it on him also gave me a sense of security that at least if he did pee, he wouldn't make a mess.

Definitely look into them as it might help with Belle's potty training. They seem comfy and well made too and there's a website u can check out with testimonials.

 

[OliviaB]

Okay--darn it, it sounds like you've done everything. I was going to make the suggestion that Monica made about enclosing her in a safe area. The only other thing I can think that might possibly work is to get a pair of tinkle trousers. You can read about them and buy them at tinkletrousers.com. I used them on my boxer who was incontinent before she died. The reason I suggest those is because I remember reading a couple of reviews on the website saying that it helped with potty training issues. You could put it on her before you put her in the crate (I would do it several times) and see if she stops peeing. She may not like wearing a wet diaper. And this garment is very secure, she won't be able to get out of it. [MENTION=1904]cali baker[/MENTION] has been using them on Finn. What do you think Henny?

Thank you! I actually told my husband tonight that I'm ready to put a diaper on her but I didn't want to use a disposable one that she could possibly get off and ingest. I'll definitely get her a pair...and cross my fingers that she doesn't poop while wearing them

 

[madie4589]

would gating her off in the bathroom be an option? I can see why you don't want to pen her off though. Frank is the same way, he WILL get into something and he will chew/swallow something. So much more peace of mind comes from knowing they're safe in their crates while we're gone.

you'll get this girl. belle won't be like this forever! it's so great to see you love her so much and are so committed to working with her. keep us updated, can't wait to see the happy ending.

 

[ddnene]

Sound like you are doing everything possible, and you have been given some great advice. I was thinking maybe try crating an area w/a baby gate, and putting a pee pad down… does she destroy them?!! Then you can slowly move the pee pad towards the door… it's not like you have to use them forever. Sounds like she's so used to going in the crate while her other owner was gone

 

[RalphieBoy]

Make her an Apartment. Our house is open too. The boys loved them.

View attachment 87187

 

[1Chumly]

Maybe try a playpen in the kitchen where she will have a bit more room to move around but still be contained and safe. She is perhaps conditioned to being in that smaller crate and use it as her bathroom. It's a tough one. Good luck!

Amazon Best Sellers: Best Dog Playpens

 

[g8erjackie]

I'm sorry you're going through a frustrating time with Belle. Since you only got her in February, I'd say try not to stress and give her a little more time. Dogs can take longer than just a few months to acclimate and realize that she won't be moved to yet another family. Try getting a really high value treat -- cheese, bits of hotdog, whatever her favorite thing is -- and reward her with it for pottying outside. Take her to potty immediately before you leave and right away when you come home and don't bring her inside to crate her until she has pottied outside. When she does mess her crate, don't make a big deal of it at all so not to draw any attention to it. She will learn, it's just hard for her because for so much of her life she wasn't let out of her crate enough so she learned to do something dogs hate, mess where they sleep.

 

[Manydogs]

Everyone has given you great advice. I believe the Tinkle Trousers might do the trick! I learned many years ago-with horses that it is alot easier to train one that hasn't been trained, than to re-train one that has been trained wrong! Your poor gal had no choice, and it's just like she had been trained to potty IN her crate. It sounds like she is a good girl in every other way, and you haven't had her long enough for her to be "re-programmed" with something she HAD to do for so long. I know it is frustrating, but just try to be patient,as I said it is harder to re train.Hang in there! It could be a lot worse!!

 

[OliviaB]

Thanks for all of the support and advice. Again, we ADORE Belle and she's never going anywhere. She may find herself wearing some cute new underwear when we leave but she has a forever home with us She's an incredible dog and we will do whatever it takes to get this issue fixed. I will keep you all posted. Keep your fingers crossed for us!