Wondering About A Crate

[rascalsmom]

We brought Jack home on November 29th, as a foster dog . Well, of course we signed the adoption papers on December 30th. At that time, he was doing pretty well out of the crate, so I gave the crate back to the adoption group.

 

Since then, he will occasionally pee in the house; always when I am gone. I have gated off the living/dining room, even though the girls LOVE to go in there, especially for their morning nap (it gets morning sun). We also close DD's bedroom door, since he peed in there a few times. That leaves him the kitchen, family room, our room, and the sewing room.

 

Yesterday we left around 4:30, AFTER the dogs had gone outside, and didn't get home till after 8:00. Jack had peed in our bedroom. I know it's him, because the girls never pee in the house, and a few of his accidents were blatantly boy-dog pee, meaning you could see the splashing, or it was right up against something.

 

We've been thinking about getting a crate to eliminate this. It doesn't happen EVERY time we leave, just on occasion. I have become more diligent about letting them--and especially Jack--out right before I leave. Jack never minded the crate when we had it here, even would sleep in there throughout the day when I was here, with the door open. I just hate to spend the $100+ to get one, and then we've got this huge crate in the room....if we don't really need it.

 

Any suggestions? Crate or no? Other ideas for eliminating this behavior?

[kamsmom]

Have you left a belly band on him when you go out?

 

I would maybe even babygate just him in one room and still let the others have the sun room. Slowly allow him more room when he shows that he isn't eliminating in his space.

[cleptogrey]

eliminate access to the room he has peed in, i agree- maybe keep him in one room or kitchen and it's adjacent room. see what happens.

 

did you bring him over to "the spot" and say WRONG and go crazy over the WRONG SPOT? try cleaning it w/ nature's miracle. if he is good in a contained area, then success!!!! other wise see if he starts peeing in the same spot...marking it then time for other measures. he needs to learn that it's a negative behavior. if he continues then check for a uti.

 

i only use belly bands on incontent dogs or boarders who are stressed out. other wise i will keep a dog on lead in the house and make sure they don't mark.

[Guest Swifthounds]

did you bring him over to "the spot" and say WRONG and go crazy over the WRONG SPOT? try cleaning it w/ nature's miracle. if he is good in a contained area, then success!!!! other wise see if he starts peeing in the same spot...marking it then time for other measures. he needs to learn that it's a negative behavior. if he continues then check for a uti.

 

I really hope not. No potential for learning there.

[rascalsmom]

No...I have not done that. I realize that they must be caught IN THE ACT for them to figure out why they are being told NO.

[sarabz]

Just one side note on a crate, if you do end up purchasing – I bought ours through PetEdge. We got a Midwest that folds flat for storage & carrying, and it was under $100 including shipping. Came very, very quickly, too.

 

Have also seen them on eBay for under $80 including free shipping, for new ones.

 

Good luck!

[Guest Swifthounds]

Good. Just checking.

 

As far as the original issue, have you tried baby gating him into one room? Maybe get a second gate (less $ than a crate) and crate him into one room and the girls into their area.

Another thing to consider is that he might be having some anxiety and ending up being unable to hold it (sometimes the only "symptom of anxiety"). Perhaps some alone training would help him.

[Guest BooBooMama]

Urinary tract infections are most common in females but males can get them. If this is new behaviour for him maybe you should have him checked out first.

[rascalsmom]

Urinary tract infections are most common in females but males can get them. If this is new behaviour for him maybe you should have him checked out first.

It's not really 'new'. He's had accidents right along, not all the time. That's what led me to gate off the other area.

 

I do think he might get a little anxious. He is really a mama's boy.

 

Thanks for the advice about PetEdge...I'll check that out.

[Guest Swifthounds]

JB Pet is good price-wise for crates and ex pens (another option) as well.

[PrairieProf]

Petco online has good crates and always offers free shipping on orders over $50 I believe.

[Guest momofevie]

I, too, suggest trying to gate Jack into one room. If you want to try the crate, though, I have one you can borrow. PM me if you're interested, and we can set up a meeting time/place. -Stephanie

[Guest MyBoys]

Why not try an xpen instead of a crate, this way you can fold it and store it when your home. My Henry still goes in the xpen when we go out, I put his bed in there and attach a tall plastic container of water to the inside, I use bungee cords to hold it. Maybe you could borrow one to try first and see how he does, since he has not been in a crate for some time I would start out with putting him in there for short periods just to make sure it is not stressful for him. When we come home I just fold it down and store it in the laundry room. I would also try a belly band, it sounds like he is marking and you need to go back to square one with him. Good Luck with this, sometimes it is just that boys will be boys.

Edited May 5, 2010 by MyBoys

[krissn333]

Did you put a bed in the exact spot where the crate was? Ace and Fritz both freaked out a little bit when I removed their crates if I did not leave a bed in the spot where the crate was. That way they still see it as a "safe place"

 

Another suggestion is a DAP diffuser. It has worked wonders for us. I couldn't tell you the last time Fritz peed in the house out of anxiety.

[cleptogrey]

why not recogize the spot and labeling the activity as wrong??? it's a word, not a physical action...a word reserved for WRONG ACTIONS ONLY.

 

 

yes, we praise positive activites, but do we just ignore destructive or unwanted behavior? we often need to make corrections environmentally to rectify the sitation. a dog needs to have a sign that a behavior is not accepted.

 

when the dog goes into the garbage, yes you put the garbage can away, but isn't the action of picking at garbage WRONG?

when a dog destroys something is it just to be ignored and no mention of the word wrong?

when they grab food off the counter or table and the they are off limits, the word for the action grabbing food is wrong?

when they jump on forbidden furniture, you can use off or just say WRONG- they should be able to tell by the signal word that be behavior is not accepted.

i can go on for ever....lunging out after cars, digging up plants,picking up garbage or feces when out on a walk, etc.

 

too many words to that can show an action is underserable is too confusing, a simple firm wrong and it's over.if you don't like the sound of wrong, choose another key word that is reserved for actions that you do not want to encourage.

 

then go on to positive things, plenty of those out there. how do you let them know that pissing in the house is not accepted?

 

i do not tolerate urine in the house, unless it's a sick animal, then it can't be helped. trainers who i work w/ believe that if a dog starts to urinate in the house they need to be recrate trained. short and simple.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Clepto, all your examples are of catching the hound in the act. Dogs brains are not capable of what you think. They simply do not have the capacity to understand that what they did 2 hours ago is what you are saying is wrong. They do not understand action/consequence in the past tense. It needs to be immediate, or not at all. This is scientific fact, not anecdotal.

 

In fact what you will end up doing (by the correction after the fact when you get home) is stressing the hound out even more because then the hound has no idea if you are going to be the "nice" owner when you get home, or the "crazy" owner that puts his nose into the sofa and corrects him.

 

Chad

[Hubcitypam]

Check Craigslist and Freecycle for crates.

[jenn8]

True that a dog needs to be caught in the act and in the OP's case, he should be house trained via the umbilical cord method for a solid couple of days. A crate is not going to solve the problem but may be useful during training if you need to turn your attention away for a while. You really need to invest the time with your dog up front to teach him what he can and cannot do before he forms bad habits that are hard to break.

 

Jenn

[NeylasMom]

I don't think it's clear why he's peeing - simple housetraining issue or mild anxiety - so it might be helpful to try to determine that in order to figure out a solution. He doesn't really sound like an anxious dog though, especially since he didn't have accidents in the crate, so I'm thinking this is housetraining, but if you have a webcam you can leave running when you aren't home for a couple of days, you can see if the peeing is preceeded by any panting, howling, barking, or other stress behaviors.

 

If it's a housetraining issue, then yes, I would confine him to a smaller space when you aren't home - for some dogs gating in a room is sufficient, but for others it's not, in which case I might get the crate back out. I would also amp up the housetraining when you are home. Any trip outside where he potties gets an immediate food reward and I would also start inserting a cue like "Go potty" right as he starts to go. It *may* help it sink in for him if he associates a cue with pottying and that cue is only given when outside. Finally, I would allow him to pee more than once before you leave the house. My male is also a marker and I walk him each morning for about 15-20 minutes so he can empty out first thing, then I come back in, get ready for work, then take him back out for one final pee before I head out. I assure you, despite him emptying out earlier, that is always a significant pee.

 

I hope that helps.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Clepto, all your examples are of catching the hound in the act. Dogs brains are not capable of what you think. They simply do not have the capacity to understand that what they did 2 hours ago is what you are saying is wrong. They do not understand action/consequence in the past tense. It needs to be immediate, or not at all. This is scientific fact, not anecdotal.

 

Exactly!

 

In fact what you will end up doing (by the correction after the fact when you get home) is stressing the hound out even more because then the hound has no idea if you are going to be the "nice" owner when you get home, or the "crazy" owner that puts his nose into the sofa and corrects him.

 

Chad

 

Or worse, just teaching him to hide his spots better so Mom doesn't get mad.

[Guest tinams8]

I think you should go back to crating him. Check craigslist, I see crates on there for really cheap a lot. Or borrow one from Stephanie.