Why has my dog taken to peeing in the crate? Aren’t dogs supposed to come with a naturally ingrained instinct to not soil where they sleep? Well, that’s in an ideal scenario, but unfortunately, things don’t always go this way. Here are some reasons why your puppy or dog may pee in the crate:
- A Wrong Upbringing
- A Medical Problem
- A Wrong-Sized Crate
- A Matter of Strong Emotions
- Being Crated Too Long
1. A Wrong Upbringing
In an ideal situation, reputable breeders will provide young puppies with a jump-start in the potty-training process. When puppies are still with their mothers in the whelping box and starting to eat solid foods and become more mobile, they are set up with a specific area, just a few steps away, where they can eliminate.
This takes advantage of a puppy’s instinct to not want to soil where they eat and sleep. As the puppies mature further in a reputable breeder’s care, the breeder may also introduce them to a crate. The reason is so that, when they go home to their new owners, the crate will be a comfortable and familiar place rather than a novelty to fear.
Of course, this is an ideal situation. The problem of a dog peeing in the crate often starts when puppy mills and pet stores raise puppies. Here, they keep them in cages most of the time which therefore forces them to eliminate in the cage and walk and sleep in their own waste.
Problems can also arise with puppies raised by breeders who neglect to keep puppy pens clean.
Once you take these puppies home, they are therefore likely to just pee and poop when they need to, often leading to soiling in their crates without any attempts to hold it.
2. A Medical Problem
Sometimes, the behavior of a puppy or dog peeing in the crate may be due to some underlying medical problem. Often the issue is a urinary tract infection that causes dogs to urinate frequently and in small amounts. Affected dogs may also have blood in their urine and will lick their privates as they feel burning.
There are many other possible medical problems in dogs that may cause dogs to have accidents in places they shouldn’t.
To name a few:
- The presence of urinary crystals and stones
- Ectopic ureters in young pups
- Kidney problems
- Spay incontinence in female dogs
- Canine cognitive dysfunction in elderly dogs
Anything that causes increased drinking and increased urination in dogs may too be a culprit.
If your dog has never peed in his or her crate before and now has just started, please see your vet to rule out any underlying medical causes.
3. A Wrong-Sized Crate
A crate of the wrong size can have an impact on your puppy’s or dog’s ability to become potty trained.
The correct-sized crate should be large enough that your puppy or dog can sit, lie down, and turn around, but not that large as to allow your dog to pee in one corner of the crate and sleep comfortably on the opposite side.
4. A Matter of Strong Emotions
Strong emotions such as excitement, fear, and anxiety may cause puppies and dogs to urinate inappropriately. This is often seen in dogs suffering from separation anxiety or noise phobias.
Excitement or Submission
Puppies prone to excitement or submissive urination may pee in their crate when their owners loom down to open the crate or to greet the puppy.
Fear or Trauma
Sometimes, dogs may become afraid to pee in the presence of their owners. This can happen when dog owners get upset and scold or physically reprimand the puppy or dog for peeing. Dogs can become traumatized by this and will refuse to eliminate outdoors with the owner nearby) so they’ll secretly eliminate in the privacy of their crates.
5. Being Crated Too Long
If your puppy or dog is peeing in the crate often, it could be you are closing him for longer than he can hold it. It’s therefore helpful to keep track of how often your dog must pee during the day and try not to keep your dog crated for longer than he can hold it.
If you must leave for longer than your dog can hold it, your best bets are:
- Hiring a dog walker/pet sitter
- Having a neighbor swing by to take him out to potty
- Taking him to doggy daycare, or
- If feasible, take him to work with you.
Alternative Solutions
If none of these are options, you may have to keep your puppy or dog in a playpen/exercise pen or area of the home where there is a washable surface and where you can place on one side his food and water bowl, bed and some toys and on the opposite side some pee pads where he can eliminate without making a great mess. If your goal is to have your dog potty in the yard, using a grass potty box may be helpful.
Of course, if the dog is being left alone for longer than it can control (hold in) its elimination, it will be necessary to provide an area much larger than a cage, so that the pet has a location on which to eliminate, away from its food and bedding.
— Debra Horwitz, & Gary Landsberg, veterinary behaviorists
Peeing is Reinforcing to Dogs!
Peeing on its own is a strongly self-reinforcing behavior. The dog feels pressure building up in the bladder and desires to get rid of the sensation. In other words, it just feels good.
These feel-good sensations therefore will prompt the dog to want to repeat it in the future. Therefore, because peeing in the crate feels good, it may become an established behavior.
Sure, dogs may not like feeling wet after the fact (and some may never feel much discomfort if you line the crate with absorbent materials), however, some dogs can habituate to the feeling if it happens often. In other words, you don’t want your dog to sit in its pee or poop as this goes against facilitating good potty-training habits.
On top of this, wet fur may predispose dogs to skin infections, not to mention other health annoyances.
How to Stop Dogs from Peeing in the Crate
As seen, dogs have their own reasons for peeing in their crates. It’s therefore important to address the underlying problems to achieve a resolution. The following tips are based on the main causes of peeing in the crate.
Rule out Medical Conditions
Have your dog see your vet to rule out medical problems. As mentioned, there can be various causes that may cause inappropriate elimination in dogs.
Suspect a medical problem if your puppy or dog is doing well being trained and now is having often accidents in the crate. Such accidents though are expected to happen as well outside the crate such as when free in the home.
Be Patient
Dogs and puppies with a history of coming from pet stores and puppy mills require lots of patience and guidance. Dogs who were always kept outdoors have a history of going potty whenever they feel like it. You’ll need to be consistent and take them out often to prevent accidents in the home.
Dogs suffering from anxiety often require behavior modification to help them conquer their fears or at least, better cope with them.
Dogs often suffer from excitement and submissive urination when they are young puppies. You will need to take steps to help prevent these episodes from happening.
Set Your Puppy for Success!
Avoid keeping your dog crated for longer than he or she may keep it.
Provide ample opportunities to pee outside if your goal is outdoor elimination. Young puppies may need to go as often as every 30 minutes to an hour during their first weeks, The more they go outside, the more you help establish correct habits so that they can make the connection that outside is the place to go. Once this connection is made, your puppy or dog will begin to alert to go out.
Whenever you find your dog peeing in the crate, familiarize yourself with the signs your dog needs to go potty (stopping to play, sniffing, circling). Then, readily accompany your dog out as soon as you recognize them. Praise and reward for successfully eliminating outside.
With puppies, make sure to take them out right after eating, upon waking up from a nap, after playing vigorously, once or twice a night, and right before bedtime.
Clean the accidents in the crate with an enzyme-based product that helps remove traces of any residual smell. Use a black light to search for uncleaned urine marks.
Do not give your pup the full run of the house until he’s proven to be fully potty trained. Contain your dog in a room where you can watch his every move.
At night before bedtime, set your alarm clock so to wake up at a certain time and take your puppy outside of the crate to potty. Ask your vet whether it’s OK to reduce your dog’s water intake a couple of hours prior to bedtime.
Keep a journal of your dog’s accidents in the crate and at what time they happen so that you can aim to take him outside earlier to prevent such accidents.
Avoid using punishment-based methods when you catch your puppy or dog eliminating in the crate or elsewhere (like scolding, swatting with a rolled newspaper, or pushing your pup’s nose in his mess). Doing this will only teach your dog to hide to pee or poop because he associates eliminating in your presence with fear.
Always praise and reward your dog when he goes potty outside. This means you’ll always need to go out with him. Rewarding him when he comes to the door will reward him for coming to the door, not going potty. With time, patience, and persistence, you can also train your new puppy or dog to go potty on command which will make your life much easier!
Click here for more dog training tips.
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References:
- VCA Animal Hospital, How to Crate Train Your Dog By Debra Horwitz, DVM, DACVB & Gary Landsberg, DVM, DACVB, DECAWBM
- Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training, Procedures and Protocols, Steven Lindsay
