Gone2Dogs

Hi there, I just joined this forum and am the proud owner of a 3 month old Basset pup for one month now.

I have been keeping him in a crate (cage) in the morning and afternoon while I'm at work, and come back for an hour at lunch to walk, feed and play with him. I put in the cage a mat for him to sleep on, some toys, an absorbent "diaper" for him to pee on (because we're training him to go on the potty training sheets) and a bowl of water. He generally loves the crate and even prefers to sleep in it some nights.

My problem is this: when I come home from work at lunch or at the end of the day, the "diaper" is shredded to fluff and his mat and the crate are wet with the water and pee. I am starting to leave the water bowl out, but he still makes a huge mess. Is this normal? I don't want him to pee on his mat or shred the training pad but I don't know what I can do... any suggestions?

BTW, he is otherwise extremely well behaved.. no problems there! Very happy puppy!

Thanks!!

dreamons

No suggestions as I didn't crate train ours but welcome to him and his family. What's his name and where are the pictures?

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Maggie Mae- Basset
Daisy Wiggles- Basset
Yogi Titus- Puggle (He thinks he's a Basset)
Carly Ann - Toy Poodle
Copper -(Speed-bump) Basset Foster

-SAN.

We crate trained Maddie, but I don't work outside the home, so I was here all the time with her during the day. The only times she was in the crate for any length of time was to sleep at night. It sounds like your puppy [name?] gets bored and either hasn't learned not to pee in the crate, or possibly can't hold it long enough yet to wait? Just a guess.

I didn't put water in Maddie's crate - she only peed a few times in it, but I got up every 2 hours at first to take her outside.

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So, is it voice? Or just the face
that captures me, and haunts me so.
Or, am I meant to never know?


-San.

Mikey T

the purpose of the crate is to teach them to hold it, If you are gone too long of a time given his age you are better of using an x pen on a cleanable surface and maybe pu the crate inside the xpen. With puppies a standard size crate is too large for them not to turn it in to a multi room house which is not what you want. they make divider for crate to make the space smaller or you can fill the excess space with boxes and such,

wannagotohawaii

My trainer told me not to leave water in the crate! She is the same trainer that I had for my previous dog! RIP Maggie!! One thing she advise me to do is have her on a feeding and watering schedule! This helps with the potty training! I also dont put anything in her crate besides her toys! No blankets etc.

I have you have fun with your new puppy! Mine is 7 months old now and we are still having the joys of training a puppy, but she does not have any accidents in the house! I have attached a string of bells to the outside door that she rings when she wants to go outside! Its quite cute when she rings them! Sometimes she rings them a lot and that means..... I need to go NOW!

The only thing that we have a problem with is her CONSTANT whining!! Hence thats where she got her name from..... Whinnie!!

Gone2Dogs

Hi, thanks (from me and Maxi) for the advice! I think I need to put the divider in the cage and keep distractions and water to the minimum!

FranksMum

I have never used a crate for housetraining. All I do feel I must warn you about is this chewing up his pad. This is dangerous as he could well swallow some, and choke (or get blocked). I think, if you have to leave him confined while you are out, maybe an ex-pen with newspaper on the floor would be far safer. Please don't withhold water either - especially if he's on a complete diet. Fresh water should always be available during the daytime.

Once a pup knows you will be letting him out to empty so he doesn't have to empty, he will start to hold/wait. But this won't happen until he physically is old enough. This is one problem with having a puppy, any puppy, and not being there most of the time. Is all I can say.

Add - Please don't leave your puppy in a small confined area. Until he can hold, or learns to, he will just empty, and if in a small area, be forced to lie in it - nasty. He should be in a 36" crate.