Our 2 year old dog, that we've had since he was a puppy, is still peeing in his crate. We crate him anytime we're gone from the house, but never over 8 hours (work, errands, etc.). It's not everyday that he pees, just some days. He's always been crated and was house broken just fine. We exercise and feed him regularly, the crate isn't "too big", we don't leave anything in the crate (bed, towels, toys, etc.). He does have separation anxiety, clearly, and is also on Prozac. What on earth can we do to mitigate this problem?
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
8 hours is too long to expect a dog to not relieve himself. Could you go that long? You might want to invest in a dog walker.
You may want to talk to your vet about two things--one is to make sure he does not have a urinary tract infection or bladder stones (the latter causes intermittent pee accidents) and if he gets a clean bill of health about re-dosing the Prozac or seeing if you can add pheromones or something additional to the treatment.
If it is separation anxiety, this can cause all kinds of behavior and sadly, peeing their crate is one of them. 8 hours in a crate is not that long for most dogs. It's not ideal, but usually as they get older, pups can "hold it" for 8-10 hours as they mostly sleep.
It is also really important to keep him on a strict schedule which give him cues of when it is OK to pee--like get home, take him out, praise heavily when he pees. Take him out before bed time, praise heavily when he pees. Take him out right before he goes in the crate, praise heavily when he pees and repeat.
Post back with an update! Prayers for the pup and for you. I know how frustrating this can be for you and for the pup. There are answers. Sometimes it just takes time to get it all to line up and get resolved.
It might help to get a very large two door crate. It is a wire crate and it has a section where the pet can relieve itself, that is not in the area where the pet lays or sleeps. I have one for my cat, when it is outside. They are great. Put a potty pad in the other part of the crate.
---Robyn
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
