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Post by suziriot on Jun 1, 2009 17:47:09 GMT -5
Lebowski, our 1 year old neutered male APBT, has a habit of peeing in his crate. We crate him when we are not home, which is about 3-5 hours at a time 4 days each week. He often pees while we're gone. He never pees in the house otherwise. He goes out several times before we crate him and leave the house. The pee is usually warm (sorry to be gross!) so we think that he pees from getting excited when we come home.
I hate the thought of him laying in urine for even a short amount of time. It can't imagine that it's pleasant or comfortable for him. We clean him up when we come home, but he is starting to get a little irritation on the skin on his belly.
I've consulted my favorite training books and resources and nothing has been helpful. Any ideas would be much appreciated!
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Post by loverocksalot on Jun 2, 2009 7:10:19 GMT -5
Maybe puppy wee wee pads could help absorb the urine especially since it seems to be he is peeing as soon as you come home. Rocky also sometimes gets a rash on his belly just because he is not a good leg lifter and pees himself.
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Post by RealPitBull on Jun 2, 2009 7:54:16 GMT -5
So, he's always in the crate when you leave/come home? How long has this been going on? Is he very excited when you first come home? How do you act when you come home? Sorry for the 101 questions, just want to get more info so I can help If this is truly excitement-related, I'd try the following (I might change suggestions based on your answers above): I would start by trying to desensitize arrivals - do fake departures and come back in a minute, then 5 min, then 10 and so on. Do it several times a day, gradually increasing the time (go through the motions as if you were leaving for real, eventually get in the car and drive around the block, etc). Arrivals should be VERY low key. Ignore him for 5 to 10 min when you first get home. Then let him out of the crate and ignore for another 5 minutes. The key is to make your arrival no big deal to help take his excitement down a few notches.
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Post by emilys on Jun 2, 2009 9:54:41 GMT -5
what Mary said, and also don't let him out of the crate till he's calm. Then make sure he's calm before you pet him.
But if he's peeing in the crate before you get home, not from excitement at seeing you again, that's another matter. The usual "take him to a vet to be sure he doesn't have a UTI" advice here. A "belly band" may help him learn to "hold it" since if he pees, it will go directly on him which isn't pleasant (it's what I used to housetrain my boy)
oh, and be sure you completely clean and sanitize the crate so there's no odor of pee in there.
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Post by suziriot on Jun 2, 2009 11:17:47 GMT -5
Loverocksalot, the wee wee pads are a great idea but Bowski has a tendency to eat things he shouldn't. I worry that the pad would prove irresistible to him! Mary and Emily: Yes, he is always in the crate when we are not home. We've arranged our schedules so we can be home with them as much as possible. He's been doing this peeing thing for a few months. Here's the usual routine when I come home: - I come in quietly and set my things down. There are two dogs that are not crated and allowed to hang out in the living room when we're gone. I don't yell a greeting at them or pay any attention to them until they go to sit at the back door to be let out to potty. - Meanwhile, Bowski and Otis are barking, yelping, and squeaking wildly in their crates! - I first let Otis out of his crate and take him out to potty. I have noticed that when I take Otis out and he stops barking, Bowski also calms down and waits quietly for me in his crate. - After I bring Otis back inside, I let Bowski out of his crate. He's usually calm by this time. If he has peed in the crate I first clean him up with a washcloth then take him out to potty. - After that I clean Bowski up more thoroughly in the tub with some water and a washcloth - no soap or shampoo. - Finally I take apart the crate (it's plastic) and put the bottom half in the tub to clean it up. I use dish soap, which does a good job of getting rid of the urine. I don't use bleach or disinfectant because I'm worried about the chemicals if Bowski licks the plastic. Then I dry the crate and it's ready to go for the next day. We did take Bowski to the vet recently to have some skin bumps and irritation on his genital area looked at. They did a urine test and everything seemed normal. He never pees in the house otherwise. Mary, if you do think this is related to excitement I will try your desensitizing suggestions. Thanks so much to all of you for the helpful suggestions!
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Post by RealPitBull on Jun 3, 2009 13:14:09 GMT -5
I would still try the desens stuff, Suzi.....you have to try to start weeding things out. This could also be a weird housetraining issue - for some reason, he might have had to pee in his crate one day, and it just formed into a habit - just like that. If that is the case, it's going to have to be short bursts of time in the crate, with lots of potty breaks, and being uber careful about not letting him get to the point of having an accident.
I'm curious......try to leave and come home and see if there is any sort of time frame to work with. Like, is he ok for 30 min but not 45 or 60? If he seems to be ok *up to* a certain point, you probably aren't dealing with excitement peeing. If on the other hand, he's peeing no matter how long you've been gone, it might indeed by an excitement thing. Also, is it possible to try leaving him out of the crate and returning to see if he pees then?
Right now it is about trying to figure out if this is voluntary or involuntary.
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Post by tank on Jun 3, 2009 17:41:40 GMT -5
If you are letting another dog pee first, maybe he is peeing during that time between seeing you and you finally letting him out to pee. Have you tried letting him out right away when you come home? If so, is there still pee in the crate?
My dog excited pees. We have a routine to go through when I come home or when people come over. If it is followed she never pees in the house. Any break in that, she will pee everywhere. I am not saying you are breaking routine, but maybe you need to have a different order of doing things when you get home.
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Post by suziriot on Jun 3, 2009 19:29:19 GMT -5
If you are letting another dog pee first, maybe he is peeing during that time between seeing you and you finally letting him out to pee. Have you tried letting him out right away when you come home? If so, is there still pee in the crate? Good thought! But I actually used to take him out very first thing when I got home, before the other dogs, and it was the same situation. I'm pretty certain he's doing it either while we're gone or right as we come home. The only reason I take the other dogs out first now is so I can get them out of the way and deal with him. I am going to try Mary's suggestions and will come back with updates. Thanks so much for all of the great input!
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