Actually he never pees in his crate at night. His crate is right beside the bed, and I'm a light sleeper. So when I hear him getting restless I take him out and he goes.
Yesterday though, I was feeding him his dinner and he was going crazy for it. I'm trying to teach him to sit and stay while I put it in the crate but since I've switched him to raw it's like he can't help himself. After he was going crazy for about 5 minutes, I got about 5 seconds of stillness out of him so I let him go in and eat. I was watching him to take him out as soon as he finished. When he was done, and turned around, I opened the crate door and was getting him to follow me. When I turned around he was peeing in his crate! Sometimes too, if i'm taking him out every 10 minutes cause I know he has to go, he'll still go in his crate. I even bought this expensive pet-deodorizer from a pet "health" store and scrub down his crate every time he goes in there. They say beagles are stubborn and hard to house train though.

It takes patience and repetition. Expect accidents and realize that it will get better. Housebreaking can take a few weeks, or even a few months. I've never owned a beagle, but if you say they are one of the breeds that's difficult to housebreak, then there you go. Don't expect progress overnight.

There is no willfulness in puppies peeing. Especially when they are this little, they simply pee--wherever they are, whenever the urge strikes them. It is as natural to them as breathing. The notion of "appropriate" places to pee isn't even on the radar screen for a puppy. They just pee.

That's the whole trick to housebreaking...knowing that they pee all the time, learning their patterns, and getting them outside to "catch" them when they do it there.

Hang in there.

And having trained many breeds, including toy breeds and the so-called "stubborn" ones (Tracy is right that there is no willfulness about it), I would point immediately to the pee pads indoors as the biggest source of confusion.

If you want the puppy to go outdoors, you don't encourage indoor peeing. I'm adamant about this, with a lot of experience (OK, some people call it "old age" ) .

I would change this mantra "They say beagles are stubborn and hard to house train though" to "Absolute consistency is needed on my part, along with having him outside when he has to go."

A puppy tethered to you will give you warning so you can get him outside and party hearty when he goes out there.

Every time he goes indoors adds another layer to that habit, and every time ..... is a handler error.



PS
"We also had an argument about taking Newman's food away as he's eating it. He thinks it will stop food aggression.... "

Please please don't ever allow this to happen. What you have given him, as his pack leader, is now his to eat, in secure non-anxiety.

 Quote: tracy collins

... That's the whole trick to housebreaking...knowing that they pee all the time, learning their patterns, and getting them outside to "catch" them when they do it there.

Hang in there.

And tethering to you is a great pattern-learner!

Just out of curiosity, how big is his crate?

I am in agreement that the x-pen and papers is very confusing to the pup.

There has to be some willfullness to it if he can hold it during the night and then take a 1 minute long pee at 4:30 am. And then other times he pees a teaspoon amount in the ex pen. I'm actually quite proud of the progress we've made so far. He's walked outside on his own to go twice now when the door was open. I think that's awesome. I just can't understand why he will pee the littlest bit in the ex pen sometimes.

And I know I really don't want my bf to take his food away while he's eating it. I told him it's unfair to him and he just said "i don't care if it's not fair. He's a dog, and I don't want him to bite anybody if they come near his food". He thinks he should do this because we have a friend who does it to his chocolate labs, and he can do it fine without them reacting at all. But I pointed out that one time when we were camping, our other friend's boston terrier puppy went near one of the lab's food dish and got bit. Hard. The puppy was fine and still loves other dogs to this day. But my point is, taking the food away didn't even work in solving food aggression.


The crate is about 2 feet deep, 1 foot wide, and 1.5 feet tall. It may be a smidge big for him, but it was a hand me down from a friend who used it for her boston terrier when he was a puppy. I will have to buy him a bigger one in a few months.

Ed's advice on Leerburg is to put paper down in a confined area when you're gone if it's too long for a puppy to hold it. He said it's so that they don't start getting in the habit of peeing in the crate. You guys think putting him in the crate would be better? He would end up peeing in there in the morning, maybe even pooing if I'm unable to get one out of him before I leave (which I can't always, I just switched him to raw and his poos are still irregularly timed). Then it would get cleaned mid day and then he would pee in there again in the afternoon. Is this not a bad routine for him?

I took Newman for a walk today when I got home and tried to keep him moving without pulling on the leash hardly at all. It was a lot of work!! He's not that interested in toys. Treats will usually get him moving, but if he's really locked on a scent it's tough. I was running back and forth like a maniac. Clapping my hands, feeding treats and making funny noises. I didn't have to pull on the leash much though, just to get his nose out of the grass a few times. I feel like it was a great bonding experience.

It's not willful. He's just a baby. He has to go, he goes.
He'll get better soon!
BOY IS HE CUTE!

 Quote: Amanda Gazzard

There has to be some willfullness to it if he can hold it during the night and then take a 1 minute long pee at 4:30 am.

Nope, he's just asleep during the night During the day, he is up and moving...and goes potty when he has too. It's up to you to teach him how to hold it. It totally can be done...trust me, I did it with a five month old GSD (now that's a lot of pee!) who had been kenneled her whole life and didn't even understand how to hold it.

 Quote: Amanda Gazzard

And I know I really don't want my bf to take his food away while he's eating it.

I just raised a pup with my husband...first one he has ever had to raise...it was a stiff learning curve for him, but in time, he did great. I had to work hard to inspire trust in me...and then he realized it was easier to just listen to me!

 Quote: Amanda Gazzard

I took Newman for a walk today when I got home and tried to keep him moving without pulling on the leash hardly at all.

Would he maybe chase something like this? http://www.chaseitpettoys.com/ This is my dogs personal favorite toy...he will chase it anywhere! It would be easy to hang out in front of your pup and engage him in chasing it.

oh my that toy looks like it would work wonders. lol. I actually tied a ball on the end of a string last week. It worked, but Newman was way more interested in grabbing the string than the ball. Oh well. It still worked.

It does, bought mine years ago at a pet expo and just replace the toy on occasion.

(I will not comment on how it makes sitting on the couch for five minutes and playing with a pup a simultaneous activity...)