11 week old jug pup peeing in crate

[trudieliz]

Hi,

We've had Bernard for just over 3 weeks now since he was 8 weeks. Toilet training has been hit and miss at best so far, but it's early days and he'll get it eventually.

However, over the past 2 days he has taken to going in into his crate during the day to pee. Everything that I've read has said that dogs don't like to mess where they sleep, so what's all this about? Today we'd been the garden for an hour, the moment I went in the kitchen for a drink, he'd done it again!

Anyone have any idea why he's started this and how I can put a stop to it please?

Your help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Trudie

 

[eingana]

Hi Trudie and welcome to DogForum

At 11 weeks old I think it's quite possible that Bernard's got the wrong end of the stick as to where he's meant to be going. He's still very much a baby and if he doesn't yet have the understanding about where you WANT him to wee then he may think that he's doing the right thing.

When he goes for a wee outside (assuming that this is where you want him to wee) do you use a prompt, a word, a treat, a fuss? What about when he goes where you don't want him to go?

What medium are you using? Pads? Newspaper?

If he has been put on paper or pads to wee previously then how is he meant to tell the difference between the paper which you want him to wee on and the paper with which you're lining his crate?

The first thing I'd do is to increase the frequency of going out into the garden, but don't stay out in the garden after he's been for a pee. An hour in the garden is a play hour, not necessarily a toilet hour, IYSWIM. He goes out every hour, after waking, after playing and before and after food, but then he returns from his pee visit to whatever else he was doing. Whenever he squats or lifts a leg on pee visits say the prompt word that you're going to use for the rest of his life. If he does go, even a few drops, a treat or fuss needs to be ready within 5 seconds, along with your best squeaky and happy voice.

Then you need to work on how he asks to go outside. if he's continent enough to deliberately go indoors to his crate to go to the loo then he's probably developed enough to start learning how to ask to go out too. Working out how this can happen is going to be down to careful observation to see Bernard's signs that he needs the toilet, at which time you can ask him whether he wants to go outside (prompt word). I was always used to dogs that went to the door to ask to go out, but Molly comes to a person to ask instead. For the first few days we thought that she was just making a fuss of us, but no, she was bursting for a wee and was probably hugely frustrated that we weren't getting the message!

Getting the message across that his crate isn't the place to go is likely to come down to removing paper from the bottom of the crate and being really consistent with catching him doing something right quite a few times, but if he's able to get as far as his crate to go to the loo then once his penny drops that he should be going out instead, it should be a very small step to change his behaviour

Good luck

 

[trudieliz]

Thank you!

He's not getting the toilet training at all really. We're obviously doing something wrong. But first I'll answer your questions;

I take him out hourly unless he's asleep and then as soon as he wakes. I use the word 'toilet' when he goes and treat him straight away being as upbeat as possible. He's better at doing poos outside, but that may have more to do with the fact that I can usually tell when he's going to do one and get him outside quickly.

This morning I took him out straight out when I got up, we were out for 10 minutes. He didn't do anything but spent a lot of time shivering on the door step! It was cold though! We then came in and he immediately peed on the kitchen floor. He's done this twice more this morning.

We don't use pads or newspaper. The downstairs is wood floor or tiles. There is only a fleece, the bottom bit of his soft bed (we take the top pillow bit out in the day and put it in the lounge and he sleeps on that) and some toys in his crate. There's no room for anything else. Overnighthes in his crate but we don't lock him in, he's in the kitchen with the kitchen door shut. He's never peed in his crate during the night, only in the day. He goes on the floor. Yesterday he didn't pee in his crate at all, but he only did one outside wee.

I can only assume that somewhere along the line we've confused him, because he's definitely getting worse not better. I know that he's a baby and it will take time and from what I've read Jack Russells and Pugs are difficult to toilet train, so I wasn't expecting him to get it immediately, but almost a month in and we've not moved forward at all. Thank god we've not got carpets!!

Also, I just ignore him when he does it in the house and clean it up. I've been told and have read that you shouldn't punish or make it a big deal.

 

[gypsysmum]

You are right not to punish. Do not show any signs of exasperation either .

If he likes his crate could you use it to confine him when you know he needs to wee or when you cannot watch him? This will give you control over his toileting. Take him straight out, from the crate, to wee. If he doesn't wee then he has to go back in the crate. There is no need to stand out there for hours just give him the chance to go and then bring him back in to the crate if he doesn't. Give him chews and toys in there.

Timing of the reward is crucial. He needs to know that he is getting the (high value) treat for peeing. This means you have to be near enough, to him, to give him the treat as he stands up from peeing.

Your focus should be that he must want to hold on to his pee in order to get the fantastic treat and fuss that is on offer outside. His little brain should think "pee - treat - outside"

I would clean the crate and any other area with biological detergent made into a 10% solution. Rinse. Dry, Go over with a spirit like surgical spirit to remove the last fatty deposits.

At the end of the day he must want to pee outside and that is all down to him finding it rewarding to do so.