How long should she be able to "hold it"?

[OliviaB]

Belle is 9 months old. When she's free in the house (majority of the time) she's very well house trained. She goes to the door to tell us when she needs to go out and she does her business quickly. Inside the crate though, she can't seem to hold it for more than a couple of hours. We crate her at night and if I don't get up in the middle of the night to take her out, she has an accident. Last night I took her out at 1:30 AM and woke up at 7:00 AM. She had already peed and pooped in her crate. She will also have an accident if we are gone during the day for more than an hour or two. I removed the bedding and that seemed to help for a day, but she's still having accidents. Do you think this will get better as she matures? How long should a 9 month old be able to hold it? Any tips on getting her to not go in the crate?

 

[2BullyMama]

She should be able to hold out for about 9-10 hours, not that I would do that, but she can. Maybe, feed her in there and get her to understand that is not where to potty..... I guessing here, as I never had the issue. but it might be worth a try

 

[Donnam]

The only reason I can think of why she might still be doing this at 9 months old is that maybe when she was still with the breeder, she was peeing and pooping in her enclosure. It isn't uncommon for young bullies to pee and poop in their crate. Winnie used to have accidents in her crate when she was younger (she's 8 months old now). Like you, I took the bedding out of the crate and I also started feeding her in her crate because dogs don't like to pee and poop where they eat. After that, she stopped having accidents in the crate.

It is interesting that she's perfectly house trained when she's not in the crate. Maybe someone else will have some more ideas for a solution. I might consider checking with a professional trainer. Good luck and keep us posted! By the way, Belle is beautiful!

 

[Petra]

I'm not sure but definitely more than a couple of hours I think... puppies I've had have been able to hold it all through the night when they were around 4 months old, some even when younger.

I think maybe she's doing it on purpose? It's extremely common that females pee on their beddings The most possible reason is that they're marking their territory.

One idea can be to feed her in her crate, but not leave food unattended. They normally don't want to potty where they eat. I also know many here can't keep beddings in their bulldogs crate cos they will pee on it every single time, it might sound rough but it might be the answer and later on bedding can be introduced again.

I would also clean out the crate real well so all pee and poo smell is completely gone, they have a habit of going potty where they've done it before.

Hope something will help you

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi Olivia, the rule of thumb is a puppy should be able to hold for 1 hour for every month of age, so by the time they are 5 months, they should be able to hold for 6 hours, having said that every puppy is different though. It took me 5 months to fully train my guys. At 9 months old Belle should be able to hold her bladder through the night, especially since she's fully trained during the day, and you take her out in the middle of the night I don't have any experience with this, but maybe Belle is having separation anxiety and is peeing in her crate when she's alone? Maybe try gating her off in an open area like the kitchen during the night or when you are out for a short period and see if it makes a difference. Some dogs will only pee on their bedding, so try removing her bedding in the crate. My guys can't have any bedding, blankets, or pillows because they eat them, so they sleep on the plastic tray in the crate. I hope you find a solution. Please keep us posted.

 

[OliviaB]

Thanks everyone. I did remove her bedding a few days ago but she's still having accidents. I'm going to start feeding her in the crate so hopefully that will help. I'm really at a loss. She was returned to her breeder because the owner who bought her as a young puppy got divorced and had to take on a second job. He returned her because she was having to spend all day inside the crate and he knew her quality of life was poor. It makes sense that she got used to using it as a bathroom so now that's what she does. I hadn't thought of that. Hopefully feeding her there will show her that it's a clean place and not a potty. Fingers crossed!

 

[madie4589]

Frank is almost 9 months and he is able to hold it through the night. he goes to bed around 9 and I get up at 5 to let him out, other times my boyfriend will get up around 8 to let him out. he never has accidents in the crate, so miss belle is definitely at the age where she can hold it all night.

I'm sure you are, you seem very well versed in doggy care but are you scrubbing the crate down with something to remove the scent of her pee after she goes? it's important to remove the scent, otherwise she will keep going as she's used that spot before and can smell it!

 

[OliviaB]

Frank is almost 9 months and he is able to hold it through the night. he goes to bed around 9 and I get up at 5 to let him out, other times my boyfriend will get up around 8 to let him out. he never has accidents in the crate, so miss belle is definitely at the age where she can hold it all night.

I'm sure you are, you seem very well versed in doggy care but are you scrubbing the crate down with something to remove the scent of her pee after she goes? it's important to remove the scent, otherwise she will keep going as she's used that spot before and can smell it!

Oh yeah, every time she goes I take the plastic pan outside and scrub it clean with a lemon cleaner and the hose.

 

[slowly]

Norman is 5 months and can hold his pee for 9 hours or so. When he was 2-3 months old he'd pee/poop in his crate too. We tried taking out the bedding and 5 min later... Pile of poop in the crate...


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