Hello! I am new here. I have an 11 week old lab puppy who doesn't mind peeing in her crate overnight and then lying in it. She does not let us know when she needs to go outside. Her vet said at this age she should only be getting up once in the night to pee, so we set an alarm to take her outside and that has been working up until two night ago. She was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection last week so she is on Clavamox for that and we have seen an improvement. We are crate training her, so she sleeps in her crate at night, there is a divider in it so she does not have too much space to sleep in one end and pee in the other. We take up her water at 7pm and take her outside right before bed. When we do take her outside we praise her and give her a small treat. I understand she may be doing it because of the infection, I just don't understand why she doesn't let us know that she needs to go outside? I know dogs don't like soiling where they sleep, and her crate is in our bedroom so I would hear her if she made a noise to go out...is she still too young to understand what she needs to do? How can I train her to let us know? Or should I just be patient?
Re: Peeing in crate Hi and welcome Due to the infection you may have to bear with it until it clears up :-\. Hopefully Lauren (Penny+me) will come on and give you some advice as she has been through this. What is pups name?
Re: Peeing in crate Her name is Haley I came home at lunch today (she is alone in the morning for 3.5 hours and I come home at lunch, then my mum comes in the afternoon to let her out) and she had pooped and peed in her crate! She peed what looks like three times, then she lay in it so I had to give her a quick bath. This is unheard of for her...she rarely poops in her crate and if she pees, it is only once if that. I didn't change her routine at all...she pooped and peed before I left for work this morning as usual....then I came home to that. Will she grow out of this? Any thoughts or advice?
Re: Peeing in crate I feel like an expert in canine urine infections. Penny had four in the space of three months as she had a physical abnormality which made her more prone to them. She might not realise that she needs to pee, certainly when I've had one myself the urge can come on suddenly even if you don't actually have much in your bladder. Penny would just per whilst walking around the house every 10-20 minutes. It was a nightmare. The antibiotics helped, but when helped the best was her having some painkillers as it reduced the pain and therefore the feeling of the urgent need to urinate. When she goes back to the vet for a check up have your vet check her for an inverted vulva which is what my pup had. If she does have one you need to let her have a season before getting her speyed, otherwise she will suffer a lifetime of urine infections. Hopefully, though, this is just a one off for you, but I always tell people to get their bitch puppies checked if they've had a urine infection because it's something that not a lot of people know anything about - we only discovers it on Penny's third urine infections and fourth vet.
Re: Peeing in crate Thanks for your reply We have a vet appointment in about two weeks, which is around the time she finishes her antibiotics so I will ask him to check for that. Does the constant peeing ruin the little amount of housetraining she had? Will I have to start all over?
Re: Peeing in crate Not necessarily start over but definitely be extra vigilant and try to take her out every 20 mins or so. I guess Penny wasn't officially 'housetrained' until after her last urine infection at 6-7 months old however she knew what to do a few months before that as she was able to hold it overnight and while in her crate. It was hard to tell whether she was having setbacks in housetraining or had another urine infection.
Re: Peeing in crate After all your hard work.... It's almost certainly the infection and that'll take a week (ish) for the antibiotics to really kick in. Once you're there I'm sure you'll see an improvement. Pooping could just be related to the infection, or it could be a degree of anxiety indirectly caused by the infection. By that I mean she's anxious at peeing in her bed, than anxiety makes her poo. Vicious circle. Is it possible to not leave her for 3.5 hours before you get home for lunch? Getting out every 20/30 minutes would be good while the antibiotics do their stuff.
Re: Peeing in crate That is true, she has only been on the antibiotics for 6 days (8 more to go!). I have never had a puppy before so this is all new to me. I have done a lot of research but nothing compares to the actual events of having a puppy haha and yes you are right about letting her out in the morning...I will see if my mum can stop by then as well. I really hope the infection clears up after one round!
Re: Peeing in crate You're right, they never follow the manual do they But keep reading, ask questions here and apply a hefty dose of common sense and you'll be fine. All exciting stuff, shame about the infection but that'll clear up - no drama. Have you posted pics yet?
Re: Peeing in crate Poor thing. I am sure the antibiotics will help clear up the infection. Unfortunately, antibiotics can cause tummy upsets, so it may be that the Clavamox upsetting the pooping, Certainly the human version Co-Amoxiclav is very prone to causing nausea and loose stools :-\
Re: Peeing in crate I didn't think if that either! Thank you all for your replies I am feeling more positive now...and she is currently happily asleep beside me in the living room
