Hi! We adopted a small mixed breed dog. Unfortunately his previous owner crated him most days for more than 8 hours a day since he was a small puppy. He’s 2 now. We’ve had him in our home for about 3 months and he was fixed a little over a month ago. When we brought him home he had a lot of accidents, almost exclusively when in the crate (we never crate him more than 2 hours except for 6 - 7 hours at bedtime). He has to be crated when we are gone or asleep because he is into everything and can jump on counters. We do cut water off about 3 hours before bed and take him out right before bed to pee. Sometimes he’ll go all night with no accident but he typically does and always does during the day when in the crate. I can’t seem to find this online and can’t afford the vet right now but was wondering if anyone knows whether he could have bladder damage from almost 2 years of being crated for too long? I’m not really sure what to do - I’m overwhelmed by his accidents. I have a special needs child and another young child, so I’m pretty busy. I need to be able to leave him crated while we go to appointments or school drop off and what not. I don’t want to clean up pee and feces every time he’s crated. I thought about making him an outside dog but that doesn’t seem right, especially since our other dog is definitely an inside dog, I don’t think they would be good in the winter outside since they are small. I am ready to find a new home because this is too much for me - my husband works long hours so I’m responsible for the dogs. I would LOVE advice or knowledge about this. I want what’s best for him, and our family. Thank you!!
There are a lot of people on the forum who've rescued dogs, most of whom are in Europe, so I'm sure that once Europe wakes up you'll get some helpful advice. I don't want to give you bad advice because I've got so little experience, but I wonder if it's simply that this little dog has just never been toilet trained? Perhaps you need to go right back to basics and treat him like you would a puppy (taking him outdoors frequently, rewarding each outdoor poo/pee with delicious treats etc). Could he have anxiety about the crate? You could always go the "dog bed in a pen" option, and get rid of that "crate = bad place" association. I'll be interested to read what others suggest. But well done on rescuing this little dog from a very sad situation. You sound like you've got your hands full with your kids, but hopefully the toileting issue with your new dog will be resolved quickly.
I think that's good advice from @Xena Dog Princess , I bet he has never been properly house trained and if he sees his crate as a normal place to go, he will continue to go in there. I'd clean his bed really well and clean the area (I think clothes detergent is often recommended as it doesn't leave an ammonia smell similar to wee) and then imagine he is a puppy for a while, taking him out really frequently and treating like mad when he goes outside. He will pick this up quickly as he already has good bladder control being an adult. Also i wouldn't cut his water, this can lead to other problems and almost certainly won't be stopping him peeing in his crate. Again, well done for rescuing your new pup.
Excellent advicexalready given, go back to puppy basics with regular trips to the garden and reward for performing. A stay in rescue often causes problems in toileting for dogs so it is good practice to start from basics rather than hoping your new dog knows your rules and will indicate when they need to go. Some will but some won't. Usually dogs are loathe to toilet in their bed area (crate) but it can also become a learned behaviour if they have been crated for many hours and need to toilet. They are left with no option but a biological necessity so I would be tempted to ditch the crate and use a pen keeping work surfaces etc clear. Removing his water won't make any difference to a lack of toilet training but could lead to dehydration. Water should always be freely available - even when toilet training. I would use one of the special cleaners, sonething like Simple Solution, which is enzymatic cleaner to soak all the bedding prior to washing and to wash the crate with, and to clean up any accidents. Normal household cleaners don't remove the smell of urine which tells a dog that a place is ok to use.
