April 21, 2011
My mini Dachshund constantly pees and poops in her crate. What am I doing wrong?
Full Question:
Hello.I am so thrilled to find your web site I have had an ongoing problem with my miniature dachshund, Greta.
She pees/poops in her crate when I leave her. I have been told to just leave her out in the house, or pad train her, but she always pees if I leave. I figured crate training is the best way to stop her from eliminating in the house.
BUT that is not so. I don't know what to put in the crate with her because she goes on it. For a long time, I just put something soft in there and put those things in the wash. Then, I put nothing in there with her. But she would pee and sit in it. Now, I put newspaper in the crate with her, but she shreds it...and then pees (or poops) on it.
At night, I put something really comfortable in there for her, and cover it so it feels like a den. But if I did that during the day, she would pee on the padding in the crate, and pull the covering.
So, I am at a loss. I hate that I cannot leave my place for very long without knowing she will pee in the crate. I am tired of cleaning up shreds of peed on paper, and tired of bathing her everyday because she sits in her own pee.
NOW, she is a pet store dog. The crate really is the perfect size, she has no health problems, I do walk her 3 or 4 times a day. I have started feeding her in the crate.
Do you have any other suggestions? Can she stop this behavior, or am is this what I stuck with? Thanks so much for your help.
Joe
Ed's Answer:
A big misconception with people is that house training is easy. WRONG – in many cases it is but just as many times it's not.
What you need to do is make this dog a crate dog. It lives 24/7 in the crate. It must be taken outside a lot. Like every hour or so. So that it learns that if I hold it JUST A LITTLE LONGER I will be able to go outside.
Give the dog something to do in the crate. We sell these treat balls that the dogs have to work at to get the treats out. Put cream cheese inside Kongs (that works sometimes). Give the dog a knuckle bone to chew on.
Clean the crate with Clorox spray when it pees and poops in it. No rugs or towels to lay on.
Your only free time with this dog for a week or two should be OUTSIDE (even if it's cold out) The dog must learn to live in the crate or it will always poop and pee in your home. YOU MUST give this dog exercise. Good long walks help it relieve itself. Do this before you go someplace.
Pee pads are the dumbest idea in dogs!!! They teach dogs to poop in the house. Use them and you set yourself up to fail.
I recommend that you get the 4 ½ hour DVD I did on my Basic Obedience program.
You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the training steps for training your dog. A dog must go through training steps before it can be considered fully trained.
When you read the description of the DVD on my web site you will find out why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. No professional dog trainer would ever take his dog to an obedience class with 15 or 20 untrained dogs and try and train it there. Dogs cannot learn when faced with this kind of distraction.
If you read the testimonials on my DVD you will see that my customers feel the same way.
I also recommend that you read the article I recently wrote titled THE THEORY OF CORRECTIONS IN DOG TRAINING.
While obedience training is not the solution to all behavioral issue it most defiantly is part of the solution for every single behavioral problem.
What you need to do is make this dog a crate dog. It lives 24/7 in the crate. It must be taken outside a lot. Like every hour or so. So that it learns that if I hold it JUST A LITTLE LONGER I will be able to go outside.
Give the dog something to do in the crate. We sell these treat balls that the dogs have to work at to get the treats out. Put cream cheese inside Kongs (that works sometimes). Give the dog a knuckle bone to chew on.
Clean the crate with Clorox spray when it pees and poops in it. No rugs or towels to lay on.
Your only free time with this dog for a week or two should be OUTSIDE (even if it's cold out) The dog must learn to live in the crate or it will always poop and pee in your home. YOU MUST give this dog exercise. Good long walks help it relieve itself. Do this before you go someplace.
Pee pads are the dumbest idea in dogs!!! They teach dogs to poop in the house. Use them and you set yourself up to fail.
I recommend that you get the 4 ½ hour DVD I did on my Basic Obedience program.
You will probably find that you have not had the full picture on the training steps for training your dog. A dog must go through training steps before it can be considered fully trained.
When you read the description of the DVD on my web site you will find out why I am not a fan of taking an untrained dog to obedience classes. No professional dog trainer would ever take his dog to an obedience class with 15 or 20 untrained dogs and try and train it there. Dogs cannot learn when faced with this kind of distraction.
If you read the testimonials on my DVD you will see that my customers feel the same way.
I also recommend that you read the article I recently wrote titled THE THEORY OF CORRECTIONS IN DOG TRAINING.
While obedience training is not the solution to all behavioral issue it most defiantly is part of the solution for every single behavioral problem.
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