Crating distress

Three weeks ago my husband and I brought home an eighteen week old German Spitz girl. She's pretty mellow most of the time but we've had some problems house training. We've been through the pup housebreaking process before and always crate trained with little to no issue whatsoever, but this time it's proving to be far more difficult. She HATES her crate. Whenever I put her in there I'm looking at a minimum of twenty minutes of shrieking and scratching, which is just horrific to watch/hear. She refuses to be distracted by anything - we've tried kongs stuffed with cheese or peanut butter (she loves both normally), toys, music, but she just won't stop barking, and if anyone has met a German Spitz, you may know that it's a bark which rapidly reduces your eardrums to a bloody sinew.

We started out crate training when she came home with us as she came from her breeder without having been introduced to house training, but she was so distressed, at this point her crying going on for over an hour at a time, we stopped for a week and have been trying to slowly reintroduce the idea over the last fortnight. She will go into her crate to eat and to sleep just fine but if the door is closed she starts to freak out. In the period we weren't using the crate we tried other house training methods, such as a secure area or not letting her have free run of the house, but although she doesn't tend to poo in the house she does still drop and wee whenever she feels like it, sometimes with warning (sniffing/circling) when she is led outside and gets to it, but at other times there is no warning at all, just squat and go! It's getting a little hard to take her places now, she usually comes with me to my parents but after the first two weeks they were starting to get a little annoyed at her peeing on the carpet. I've tried to rationalise this as I've only had her three weeks and the process can take a long time etc, but I'm being made to feel like I'm failing horribly and she should be there already. Should she be? She's a wonderful little girl but this is becoming a real problem for me, as I feel so cruel keeping her in her crate and genuinely don't blame her for her accidents, I just feel like I'm failing her in some way.

aaaaw, oh dear, don't feel like you are failing her, it has only been three weeks, and if she got to 18 weeks with no housetraining, i imagine you will have a slightly harder job of it!! Also if her bark is anything like a samoyeds, i know exactly what you mean, my friends sam, makes the pots and pans ring in her kitchen, eyewatering!

i would be dragging her outside for a wee as often as possible, maybe set an alarm or timer for every half hour or whatever you can manage, and take her outside regardless of sniffing etc. Also everytime she eats, wakes up, gets excited, etc etc. I'm sure she will get there in the end...

People also recomend a really good cleaner for the spots she has weed on, so they have no odour to a clever doggy nose. Some suggest a biological washing powder so the enzymes in it remove the odour or some such thing...

As to the crate, i really don't know what to suggest, it must be very distressing for you to see her distressed, maybe a slightly larger one might soothe her? someone will come along in a bit with some good suggestions, try not to worry!

Hannah

I'm very sorry for you. Eighteen weeks is old to start house training - my mini schnauzer was 13 weeks when she came home and was the worst by far of all the pups I have housetrained.

Hanneroon is right to suggest lots of visits outside - after playing, after a sleep, after food and every half hour. Lots of praise and a small, well timed treat after she has been a good girl might help to do the trick.

As for the crate - I would not purse it if she hates it that much. Some dogs just regard it as a prison.

Good luck- don't get depressed - she will sense something is wrong so do your best to stay upbeat. xx

I would stop trying to use the crate for house training. If she's happy to take herself in there to sleep or chew a treat, you don't want to end up in a situation where she won't go in it at all.

Crate training does work for some, but it's obviously not doing with her and if she's getting distressed and anxious, it could be making the weeing problem worse.

It is going to be harder to housetrain at her age, but if you go back to basics, as you would with an eight weeker, she will get there in the end. I would take her out every hour, and give lots of praise when she gets it right. x

Thanks for the replies Has made me feel a little better already! I'll try what you suggested and go right back to the start with lots of outsides after... well, everything. Thanks again.