Quote:
Originally Posted by Sway Says  The crate should be big enough for a dog to comfortably lie down in and no bigger and he should be taken out to pee as his bladder will allow.
As far as disciplining your dog for going in the crate, I usually discouraged the behavior through verbal disapproval. Granted dogs usually police themselves because they realize their mistake afterward. When Harley would have a bathroom lapse in his crate I would let him know that I was not happy with him verbally. But he only messed in his crate a handful of times when he was a puppy and never does it anymore.
Am I saying that a dog should be locked in his crate for hours and never given a chance to urinate? I don't think I said that at all. Or that we should behave like cage breeders? That was a little harsh.
But if you put the dog in the crate to run out to the grocery store and he pees inside he will have to live with the consequences until you can get back and clean it up, won't he? After doing this once or twice he'll realize that he prefers to be dry and hold it. He will also come to find that he actually *can* hold it and that will make it easier for him to do so when you're trying to train to pee at appropriate times in appropriate places.
Like I said, the idea is confinement and not incarceration. The dog is only in the crate because he cannot be trusted to urinate properly outside of the crate, not because he is a bad dog. |
I have no problem with a crate; I think they are wonderful; I have a problem with your comment, "He needs to learn that if he urinates in it he will have to marinate in it." Sorry, but most authorities say the dog doesn't make the mistake the owner makes the mistake; I disagree strongly with your advice on marinating in his own pee. We are teaching our dog things all the time, and if house breaking were your only goal, perhaps your method would be considered a good one. However, I don't believe this method establishes a good long-term trusting relationship between a dog and a human. Puppy mill dogs are often more difficult to housebreak because they have learned to live covered in pee. Could you give me one source that recommends you method of discipline?