Help...poopin' problems

[Lollipopcorner]

Harley poops in his crate EVERYTIME he is in it. He's in it at night and for short periods of time while we're gone (to church). When we are going to be gone more than a few hours, we put him in the laundry room with a puppy pad, his bed and water and ...you guessed it, he poops....everytime. It doesn't matter how long it's been since he pooped, he's gonna do it again everytime he is in the laundry room or crate. DH gave him a flea dip this afternoon and put him in for a few minutes and he pooped in that short period of time he was in there. Any suggestions?

DH is a firm believer in crate training, but if being confined is causing a problem, we're gonna have to figure something else out. I just can't have him messing up all over the house especially now when we're trying to sell it.
FYI: Harley will be 15 weeks tomorrow. He's been with us for 9 days.

[MY OSCAR]

Originally Posted by lollipopcorner

harley poops in his crate everytime he is in it. He's in it at night and for short periods of time while we're gone (to church). When we are going to be gone more than a few hours, we put him in the laundry room with a puppy pad, his bed and water and ...you guessed it, he poops....everytime. It doesn't matter how long it's been since he pooped, he's gonna do it again everytime he is in the laundry room or crate. Dh gave him a flea dip this afternoon and put him in for a few minutes and he pooped in that short period of time he was in there. Any suggestions?

Dh is a firm believer in crate training, but if being confined is causing a problem, we're gonna have to figure something else out. I just can't have him messing up all over the house especially now when we're trying to sell it.
Fyi: Harley will be 15 weeks tomorrow. He's been with us for 9 days.

well he is very young and he is going to poop. He is too young to hold it all day and night until you are ready to take him out. .
is he on a feeding schedule?
sometimes that helps with being able to hold it during the night but young pups have to go potty many times a day whether its inside or out...
being in the crate at night is fine cause they sleep anyway just take him out several times before bed so he can have a chance to potty. Also play with him a little before bed to tire him out so hopefully he will sleep during the night..
mostly you have to be patient , it takes a long time for a pup to get houstrained especially if your aim is outside only....
good luck

[Lollipopcorner]

Originally Posted by MY OSCAR

well he is very young and he is going to poop. He is too young to hold it all day and night until you are ready to take him out. .
is he on a feeding schedule?
sometimes that helps with being able to hold it during the night but young pups have to go potty many times a day whether its inside or out...
being in the crate at night is fine cause they sleep anyway just take him out several times before bed so he can have a chance to potty. Also play with him a little before bed to tire him out so hopefully he will sleep during the night..
mostly you have to be patient , it takes a long time for a pup to get houstrained especially if your aim is outside only....
good luck

Thanks for your reply. Yes, he is on a feeding schedule. We've even started feeding him earlier in the evening in hopes that he go before being put in the crate and he is going before but while in the crate as well. We are keeping a couple of potty pads out for him during the day hoping that he will learn to use them too. So far, he's gone near the pads a few times. That gives me hope.

I do realize and expect that it is going to take a while but I am concerned that he's always going when he is confined no matter how long or when he last went. We never put him in the crate or laundry room without taking him out first. If he is having issues with confinement, I want to recognize and deal with it before it gets too bad.

[MY OSCAR]

Originally Posted by lollipopcorner

thanks for your reply. Yes, he is on a feeding schedule. We've even started feeding him earlier in the evening in hopes that he go before being put in the crate and he is going before but while in the crate as well. We are keeping a couple of potty pads out for him during the day hoping that he will learn to use them too. So far, he's gone near the pads a few times. That gives me hope.

I do realize and expect that it is going to take a while but i am concerned that he's always going when he is confined no matter how long or when he last went. We never put him in the crate or laundry room without taking him out first. If he is having issues with confinement, i want to recognize and deal with it before it gets too bad.

you are welcome... Sometimes if you confine them to a smaller area with the potty pads they train to them easier. Can you get an ex pen for during the day ?
you could line one side with the potty pads and the other his bed and toys and water . When he pees elsewhere put a little scent on one of the pads in his pen and put him on the pad and say go potty. This will take lots of practice but he will catch on..

it could be that he is in the crate too much.
maybe if you use the crate for just bedtime only it may help.
hopefully he will learn that his crate is his "bed" only and not a potty place..
trust me , he will get it.
it took my oscar a long time to potty train but he got it.

[YorkOfTheShire]

Our vet says that as a general 'rule of thumb' a healthy puppy should be able to hold it for 1 hour for every month old they are (using 4 weeks per month)...starting from the time they have the urge to go...not from the last time they went (as that would be based on a lot of factors).

So, from when they 'feel' they need to eliminate themselves, at 15 weeks you shouldn't expect him to hold it any longer than 4 hours past that point.

I'm not an expert...by any stretch...but that's what our vet told us should be used as a general guideline.

With Bella, we went to sleep at our regular time...but I set the alarm for 4 hours and then got up and took her to the potty pad. More often times than not she went both #1 and #2. She then was praised lavishly and given a *tiny* treat. But then it was RIGHT back to bed for another 4 hours (total of 8 hours sleep) and she did the same in the morning upon waking up.

It wasn't that big of a deal to set the alarm and get up and take her...and didn't have to last that long. Just until she was old enough to hold it til morning.

I don't believe your puppy goes in the crate on purpose to get out - puppies don't like pottying in their beds. They usually do it if they feel they have no choice.

[MY OSCAR]

Originally Posted by YorkOfTheShire

Our vet says that as a general 'rule of thumb' a healthy puppy should be able to hold it for 1 hour for every month old they are (using 4 weeks per month)...starting from the time they have the urge to go...not from the last time they went (as that would be based on a lot of factors).

So, from when they 'feel' they need to eliminate themselves, at 15 weeks you shouldn't expect him to hold it any longer than 4 hours past that point.

I'm not an expert...by any stretch...but that's what our vet told us should be used as a general guideline.

With Bella, we went to sleep at our regular time...but I set the alarm for 4 hours and then got up and took her to the potty pad. More often times than not she went both #1 and #2. She then was praised lavishly and given a *tiny* treat. But then it was RIGHT back to bed for another 4 hours (total of 8 hours sleep) and she did the same in the morning upon waking up.

It wasn't that big of a deal to set the alarm and get up and take her...and didn't have to last that long. Just until she was old enough to hold it til morning.

I don't believe your puppy goes in the crate on purpose to get out - puppies don't like pottying in their beds. They usually do it if they feel they have no choice.

[BLowry]

does he poop before you put him in there? Maybe the crate is too big..?

[Lollipopcorner]

He's only been in the crate twice for a short period of time other than bed time. My kids and I are at home all day and he stays out in the room with us. The only other two times we've left him alone, he was in the laundry room. I guess we just need to keep doing what we're doing until he figures it out.

[ironmike86]

Doesn't matter if it's a small crate. If they need to poop they will. Moki had the same problem. I'm a firm believer in outdoor potty. But I gave in cuz I needed sleep. And figured he's just to young at the moment. He goes on is reusable potty pad almost 100% or at least near it . So I would train the pup to at least go on a pad. Then work out side. Outside he will go if I see the sign otherwise it's the pad JME