I feed my pup in the crate. He is 4mos old and initially this was great, i would take him out of the crate in the AM and walk him then feed him while i re-crated him, run my errands and do my business and then let him out , all the sudden iam cleaning poop and pee out of the crate , this cant last it is getting to be a daily thing, what gives? If iam not able to leave the house for 4- 5 hours then what do i do to live my life , i cant be prisoner to the puppy!

Matt, puppies need a lot of attention and care. If your pup is soiling in the crate on a daily basis, you are needing to change your routine.

What is your routine with the pup now? Remember puppies are a lot like babies. You can't expect a pup who just ate a bowl of food and water to hold it so long. Young puppies need to go out to relieve themselves just an hour to two after eating.

I know it is frustrating, but this comes with the territory of young pup. If you feel like you are a prisoner of this puppy, perhaps you should not have gotten one.

I'm willing to bet it's a timing issue. Little puppies usually need to go within an short time of eating so I'd try getting up a little bit earlier, taking puppy out for just a quick potty, feeding him, then an hour later going for a walk. He should be good for a nap after that while you're out.

 Quote: matt style

I feed my pup in the crate. He is 4mos old and initially this was great, i would take him out of the crate in the AM and walk him then feed him while i re-crated him, run my errands and do my business and then let him out , all the sudden iam cleaning poop and pee out of the crate , this cant last it is getting to be a daily thing, what gives? If iam not able to leave the house for 4- 5 hours then what do i do to live my life , i cant be prisoner to the puppy!

Matt .... breathe. "If iam not able to leave the house for 4- 5 hours then what do i do to live my life , i cant be prisoner to the puppy! " is not only way premature, but kinda sounds like anger at a puppy who I guarantee to you is doing nothing but what he needed to do. Now let's figure out why he was in the crate when he needed to be outdoors.

First, 5 hours is a stretch for this age puppy.

Now: Has his feeding schedule or type of food changed recently? Is he acting well, no lethargy? Is it usually both poop and pee? Is there any diarrhea?

Also make sure the crate isn't to big! He should just be able to lay down and turn around. If he can pee or poop in one side and then sleep on the other, that is what he is going to do!

Matt,

Are you leaving the food and water in the crate with him while you are gone? At 4 months if you make sure he is getting out about 2 hours after he eats; he'll probably be able to hold it most days for 4-5 hours but no guarantee....an immature system empties itself much quicker he has no control so patience is required on your part.

I agree with getting up a bit earlier; letting the pup out to relieve himself; putting him in the crate and feeding him as you get yourself ready for your day; about an hour later take him out to play a bit and after he relieves himself back to the crate while you run errands minus the food and water.

Can you take him with you while you run errands and give him a potty break in between. That is what I did with my pup. I crated him in the car and got all the stuff out of the way that did not require me leaving him unattended or out of my view. Dropping kids off at functions running into dry cleaner, drive through banking, coffee etc. Nice bonding time and good socialization....just an idea.

He has been a few days w/o any problems and i have tweaked things according to some suggestions on here, i was getting tired of cleaning the crate ,certainly not the pups fault thou!

 Quote: Sheila Buckley

Matt,

Can you take him with you while you run errands and give him a potty break in between. That is what I did with my pup. I crated him in the car and got all the stuff out of the way that did not require me leaving him unattended or out of my view. Dropping kids off at functions running into dry cleaner, drive through banking, coffee etc. Nice bonding time and good socialization....just an idea.

Glad to hear he is doing better...

I do the same thing Sheila did with my pup. Anywhere I go that I can still see my car, he goes too. This has resulted so far in a pup that is fantastic in his crate and content to just hang out until whatever comes next. Highly recommend this