It sounds to me like Zoie has never been crated before with the reaction to a crate your describing. You might want to try leaving her in there shorter periods of time to help her get used to it. When she knows that you will take her outside when she cries to go out, she will learn not to potty in it. Venus pottied in her crate that first week too.
Also, I wouldn't leave food and water in the crate with her. Of course if she's eating and drinking in there, she will have to potty.
And I certainly wouldn't leave her in there all day while your at work. Thats entirely too long. Is there any way you can come home for lunch to let her out, or have someone else drop by to let her out? I think about 3-4 hours would be maximun time for a 4 month old dog.
They won't be able to completely hold pottying for a while yet. Their bladders are much smaller than most dogs.
You might want to try an X-pen. Put her crate at one end, food and water next to it, and a potty pad at the other end if you need to leave her more than 4 hours alone. Or confine her to one room, with a pottie pad in it.
I also did a search on this board and read a lot of posts AND the replies on pottying, when I first started training Venus. The search engine is on the dark blue line above that starts with "User CP".
I'm sure others will have some ideas, I can't remember right now. |