Toilet training confusion - peeing in crate

[SonnySouth52]

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Help me please! I have a 19 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She came to us puppy pad trained so we left her crate open at night for a couple of weeks and she used the pad. As our toilet training has progressed, I've taken the pads away for her to go outside. We noticed she was sleeping 10-5.30am without using the pad so thought it was time to shut the crate. She has been doing well with going outside and pees on command pretty much! However, the last week she has started peeing in her crate. We think that once when we left her for 2.5 hours in her crate when at work, she needed to go desperately and went in her crate. Now she's doing it every night instead of signalling to us she needs to go out. The past 2 nights I've set alarms every 3 hours to take her out but she does nothing, gets very annoyed at me and just sits down staring at me until she's allowed back to bed. I read about taking the crate bedding away so I did that and she didn't pee on it in the night hooray! BUT this morning she pulled her crate cover through the bars and peed on that and I didn't wake to the noise because I'm so exhausted! I thought dogs didn't like going in their bed? What do I do to stop her peeing in her crate?

 

[JudyN]

Do you need to shut the crate - is she destructive if allowed to wander? If not, I'd leave it open. Crates can be useful tools, but absolutely not essential. If you're worried about her peeing on soft furnishing you could section off an area of the room she's in with a dog playpen or similar.

 

[JoanneF]

I thought dogs didn't like going in their bed?

No, they prefer not to. Bur if she has to go, she has to go.

I think there's a combination of things going on here. First, don't expect the crate to be a toilet training solution. It can help, but it's not a silver bullet solution.

instead of signalling to us she needs to go out.

She is too young to tell you. It's like expecting a one-year-old child to tell you. Rather than her signalling, I'd recommend being proactive and taking her out every couple of hours in the day and at least once overnight again.

taking the crate bedding away so I did that and she didn't pee on it in the night hooray! BUT this morning she pulled her crate cover through the bars and peed on that

This is one of the reasons we don't recommend using pads. Your clever girl has done what she thinks you want - she has,peed on a soft surface, the closest thing to a pad that she could find and use. Pads only give mixed messages about whether indoor toileting is allowed and cause more problems than they solve.

I'd make sure you take her out last thing. Remember to reward her immediately when she toilets, it has to be immediately to be clear that it's for toileting and not for anything else.

As she has been trained on pads, I'd take her out once in the night and try to get her to toilet outside on a pad. Again, reward immediately.

See whether there's anything in this thread that might help - House training

 

[Flobo]

I am a bit confused as to why you felt you needed to start shutting her in the crate when she was doing well? It can be quite stressful for them being shut in...

 

[SonnySouth52]

I am a bit confused as to why you felt you needed to start shutting her in the crate when she was doing well? It can be quite stressful for them being shut in...

To help disassociate from the puppy pads, to help toilet training etc. She is happy in her crate, chooses to go in, rests in there during the day. She has always been shut in for naps during the day without issue.

 

[SonnySouth52]

No, they prefer not to. Bur if she has to go, she has to go.

I think there's a combination of things going on here. First, don't expect the crate to be a toilet training solution. It can help, but it's not a silver bullet solution.



She is too young to tell you. It's like expecting a one-year-old child to tell you. Rather than her signalling, I'd recommend being proactive and taking her out every couple of hours in the day and at least once overnight again.

This is one of the reasons we don't recommend using pads. Your clever girl has done what she thinks you want - she has,peed on a soft surface, the closest thing to a pad that she could find and use. Pads only give mixed messages about whether indoor toileting is allowed and cause more problems than they solve.

I'd make sure you take her out last thing. Remember to reward her immediately when she toilets, it has to be immediately to be clear that it's for toileting and not for anything else.

As she has been trained on pads, I'd take her out once in the night and try to get her to toilet outside on a pad. Again, reward immediately.

See whether there's anything in this thread that might help

Thank you for the advice. We did not choose puppy pads, she came to us like it. We've tried very hard to break the association slowly and securely. As I said above, I take her out 3 hourly overnight to be proactive.

 

[Flobo]

As our toilet training has progressed, I've taken the pads away for her to go outside. We noticed she was sleeping 10-5.30am without using the pad so thought it was time to shut the crate.

I'm wondering if the change in her night time routine from not being shut in to being shut in has upset her. Have you tried going back to the stage before you shut her in, taking her out say at 10pm and then say around 5am? Night times can be worrying for a young pup on there own and suddenly being effectively 'trapped' in the dark, can be upsetting for them. Sometimes we need to look at things from the dogs perspective... Imho there is no need to shut a dog in cage, they are group animals and need to feel part of the family not isolated or kept separate from it, it can make them feel vulnerable and quite anxious... This is just my opinion and not a judgement, as much as I understand the importance of a dog being used to a crate, I am not a fan of them being used to shut dogs away unnecessarily...