10 Month Yorkie Pees in Crate. HELP!
 

My Wife and I just bought our Yorkshire Terrier about 1-2 months ago. We love everything about him! Except for the fact that he pees in his crate while we are at work.

This literally causes us to have to bathe him EVERY NIGHT! He is really good at waiting until the following morning to go out, but we just can't get him to wait till we get home from work to go.

We've just recently started the crate training process, so that may have something to do with it. He hasn't gotten to the point where he is comfortable to go in by himself yet -but we are working on it.

We started stuffing items in his crate to limit the amount of space he has to move around. The limitations only allowed him to stand/sit/turn around and lay down. However he continues to re-leave himself in the kennel.

Last week he was pooing and peeing, up until we limited the amount of space he had. This week he is only peeing -No, he doesn't have an infection/disease etc.

We are starting to get frustrated with the whole idea of "crate training". He is able to hold it till we take him out the next morning -granted we take his water away at 9pm, and take him out that night before bed. After taking him out in the morning, we let him roam around the apartment for an hour to eat and drink, before we put him in his crate and leave for work for the day.

Should we take him out yet again prior to leaving for work in the morning?

Please advise!

Hi and welcome to YT.
How long is he alone while you are at work?

I would say about about 9 and a half hours. But I figure he should be able to hold it, considering this rule of thumb thing I've been reading about puppies/dog, being able to hold there urine in hours for as old as they are in months. 12/10/2010 made him 10 months old.

I only have a 30 minute lunch, so I don't have enough time to come home and take him out around noon or 1. =/

It was working perfect for a couple weeks before the last, because my wife would come home from work at 2 or 3pm (due to training for a new position). However she is now on a set schedule till 5. She gets home right after me.

Can someone come home at lunchtime to let him out? All day is a very long time when you have a bladder the size of a pea.

@Ringo1: No. =/ I thought the general rule of thumbs is they can hold there liquid in hours, for as old as they are in months? 12/10/2010 would make him 10 months. So I figure 8-9 hours should be fine. =/

I'm going to look into an xpend and put pads down since the kennel/crate isn't working out as I would like.

On another note, my little guy is skinny, I wan't to fatten him up a bit. What do you feed yours? Bailey is 7 lbs, and I can feel just about every bone when I run my hands on him.

You are expecting too much from him, 9 ½ hours is way too long. Dogs can hold it overnight longer than they can hold it during the day because urine production slows down. I'm afraid you made mistakes that might be difficult to untrain. If you are leaving your dog that long you need to put him in an x-pen with a pee pad on one side. I think the rule of thumb you are using is for overnight training, during the early months. For example, a 12 week dog is 3 months old, and some can hold it 3 hours overnight, but this is too long for the daytime. At that age you would take out every hour during the daytime, and gradually increase by 15 minutes or so. The "rule of thumb" was never meant to be used for a dog 10 months old, or older; in your way of thinking a two-year-old dog could hold it 24 hours. If I were you, I'd crate train overnight, and place on a pee pad in the mourning, and then when you leave put him in an x-pen with a pee pad.

9 1/2 hours is too long for him to hold it.
Sure he can hold it at night, when he probably holds it for around 7-9 hours... But he is asleep then.
Think about it, if you slept for 9 hours you probably wouldnt need to get up for the toilet. But try going 9 hours through out the day without going to the toilet, it would be hard yes? Now try and think what it would be like if your bladder was the size of a pea... :)
You need to either have someone come in half way through your shift to let him out for potty, or leave out a pee pad for him.

Xpen with pads sounds like a good idea for your little guy. You are right on track.

Lucy has mild liver issues so her food will be a little different than most. She eats Natural Balance Vegetarian in the morning and Wellness Limited Ingredient of an evening.

What kibble are you feeding? I like to mix some of these things in with the kibble:
cooked carrots, green beans, boiled, organic, plain chicken and chicken broth; cottage cheese; buttered noodles; canned Wellness 99% meat dog food (Lucy eats chicken only but they make canned beef, lamb, turkey . . . my Westie loves them ALL).

If the things I mix in are warm (such as the carrots, carrot juice . . canned meat, etc) she will eat it ALL. She loves her food warm.

Just a thought.

As a personal choice, I don't like crate training due to the limits of movement but many people on here do. However, since it isn't working, I too would suggest an xpen. It costs little compared to the comfort of your dog and you plus he will be better satisfied being able to relieve himself without having to lay in it and he has room to move about and play with his toys. Good luck.

wow, that sure is a long long time for a 10 month old puppy to be confined to a crate :eek:
I would consider a xpen , you can put a crate in there with the door open, a pee pad on the floor, lots of toys for him to play while your away at work. Or maybe gate him /her in the kitchen.
Puppies need play time also, that seems extreme to be locked in a cage since he is still a puppy and needs time to run and excersize and play , Im not sure if you lock him in the crate all night while you sleep but if so it means FAR TO many hours locked up. 8 hours at night and then 9 and a half during the day:confused:

Id try Walmart.com: Kennel-AireÂ*Exercise Pen, 36": Dogs

with toys , food , water, and a nice soft bed, you will have to use a pee pee pad as that is a long time to have the puppy hold it self. JMO

Little dogs have small bladders and have to urinate more frequently than big dogs.....also, I agree with the others, 9 hours or so is just too long.....for any dog. Confine your dog to a small tiled area, with food, water, a few "safe" toys, a soft place to lay down (maybe his crate with the door left open, unless, he thinks that is where to go and potty now since that's what he's been doing) and a pee-pee pad....leave a radio on or the t.v. so there is some noise to help comfort your pup. Work with him on potty training when you're at home. Go get some training treats and ONLY give him a treat when he goes on the pad. Break up the treats into VERY SMALL "tastes". Dogs don't know the difference between getting a whole treat or just a taste of it. It worked great with my dog....so good that for the longest time she would run over there and squeeze out a little bit of nothing so that she could get a treat!!!....terriers are SMART and very good problem solvers and you have to outsmart them....which isn't always easy to do!! There were times when I thought my dog just might be smarter than me!! Anyway, that way, when you're away during the day and he/she's in her little area, she will practically potty train herself. Oh, and be sure and get one of the "frames" to hold down the edges of the potty pads so your dog doesn't start "shaking" it and playing with it. Well....now...I keep remembering things that might help. You might want to get a kong. It is a rubber toy that you can put a treat in or frozen peanut butter in that your dog will have to figure out how to get out. This will help to keep your dog's mind busy so she won't get bored. Lastly, put the kong down and another small treat when you leave to go to work. This helps with separation anxiety. Your pup will start looking forward to when you leave!! Mine does to this day. She knows when I'm about to go out the door, runs and stands, tail wagging, at the "spot" that I lay down a few treats when I leave. She's got the routine down. Daisy and I wish you luck!!

Is it possible to have a neighbor walk your dog while you're at work? Our neighbor has a dog and if any of us are going to be late we always walk the other persons dog.

The ex-pen idea sounds like it will work out well too.

Good luck!

I could never leave my dog in a crate that long. And then only having limited space to move fo 7-9 hours, that is just not right to me. Sorry.
I think you should get an x-pen. You can use the 4-sides and not the whole thing an give hime some room to move around. What do you do with him when you get home till time for him/you to go to bed? How much exercising is he getting?

I never thought to do that, I'll start adding some of the things you mentioned to his Eukanuba. I've been reading some threads here and there, and some people are saying it's not the best of brand's. Here I thought I was feeding him the good stuff for the past month or two. smh. What brands are considered the "good" stuff? I just get overwhelmed at pets-mart. It wasn't until I got Bailey, that I realized how much merchandise they carried.

Good tip on warming up food. I like that idea. I'll implement it.

To be honest, I didn't want to crate train. I use to leave him in the kitchen with a baby gate up during the day, however when I'd get back home, there would be blood all over it. I think i was trying to bite his way out of it =/

To stop him from hurting himself, I bought a kennel. It apperently was a little too big for him, so he would HOP AROUND IN IT from the kitchen, and I'd come home to find his kennel with him in it BY THE FRONT DOOR. NOT an easy task considering the distance. During these "episodes" he would keep nicking his back on the top of the crate. He had a deep gash, which just healed up. But that spot is bald as he was continually licking it. I had to keep him bandaged up with a shirt on for a while, just to prevent him from licking off that thick layer of his epidermis. The hair is growing back slowly, will that spot be full like it was again? Or will he have a bald spot on his back FOREVER? =/

People were telling me the kennel was to big, which was why he was peeing/pooping and hopping around. So I stuffed it with items to limit his movements and weigh down the kennel. He can only sit/turn and lay down in it now. NEEDLESS to say, I've now found out it is due to the extensive amount of time he is spending in his kennel that is causing him to go in the bathroom in it. smh.

I've decided to put the baby gate back up in the kitchen, with puppy pads down and the kennel with the door open in the kitchen. -UNTIL i get him an x-pen. Any suggestions on stopping him from biting the baby gate and bleeding on it?

Also, no, he sleeps in our bed with us. He is so affectionate and loves to cuddle. The only time we were putting him in the kennel was when we left for work. The rest of the time, he is free to roam the apartment.

I just want to get to the point where I don't need the baby gate or x-pen and he can just behave and only go on the pads while we are way or something.

@Garot; see the message I left for jeanm1963.

Well, we all thought Eukanuba was a good brand until we came here or someone else educated us. There are so many good brands out there now - my favorates are Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Taste of the Wild, Wellness Limited Ingredient; and I used to feed Ringo Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. I think there's some milk in that one; and all dogs won't tolerate it.

Also, the better companies will send you samples! Someone will come on and post a link to the dog food rating site; but I've forgotten how!

Responding to your first post, yes take him out after he eats right before you leave

further, 9-9.5 hours is a long time. Rent can go that long but it is the exception that he has to not every day. He is also 2.5 yes old. Would definitely suggest expen rather than crate or gate him into one room with a pee pad area. That way if he can wait he will but if he has to go he can do so correctly

good luck!

Sorry for typos above typing on my iPhone

just read your post about the attempted gating in the kitchen

hmmm just a thought- remy has never been crate trained and does not do well being confined. however he is ok if you block an area to keep him out as compared to keeping him in. Example during holiday decorating when I had ornaments out everywhere I could keep him in our foyer by gating off rooms he could not go into

Maybe try a different space?

So glad you have decided to use an expen, you can also find these at baby stores or craigslist, I have a plastic one that I use it can make a circle or a long rectangle... Id also see if there is a responsible teenager in your area that is looking to make a couple of extra bucks and walking your puppy after school, that way if you leave for work at 8 am am and high schools are usually out at 230 and your home 5 he will also get used to going outside and a good brisk walk will tire him out and maybe he wont bite the gate....Like others suggested leave a radio or tv on so he wont feel so lonely, some good fun safe toys and Im sure he will adjust. Good luck!!
And wellness is a good puppy food, but dont just switch foods mix a little in with him current food and slowly transition to a new food.;)

I think I mentioned in an earlier reply I sent to you that terriers are smart and very good problem solvers....and wanted to write again after reading about your dog "hopping" in his crate to get to the front door (because he wants to go with you wherever you're going) to say CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU HAVE A SMART DOG!!.............................I think if I were you I would try getting up a little earlier and taking him for a walk for about 20-30 minutes before you have to start getting ready for work and in addition, you might play with him a little if your aren't already. Also, take him for a 20-30 minute walk sometime in the evening when you get home. Yorkies are small but HIGH energy dogs and need walks to help them to be able to settle down in the home and be content. In addition, as I mentioned in an earlier post, find some safe toys that will keep him busy trying to solve the problems of "how am I going to get this treat out of this kong" instead of him trying to solve the problem of how he's going to get out of the gated area to get to the front door. You need to pair a "negative" thing, like your "leaving" with a positive thing "treats". So when you leave for the day, in addition to laying down a kong or two, lay down a couple of treats right before you go out the door. Lastely, go get some "bitter apple" spray and spray that stuff all over that gate. Don't worry if it drips on the floor some...it won't hurt anything. It really worked with my dog when she was a pup and wanted to bite on some of my furniture......Daisy and I wish you luck!!

In regards to food, I'd like to put in my plug for Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet Potato & Duck Small Breed Bites. Rylie is doing really well on it and it is lower protein content if you find your dog has a problem with any of the higher protein foods (like Blue Buffalo or Acana, which are high quality too!). NB LID is grain free and high quality, but has lower protein content. However, it really is whatever food your dog personally does well on!

Note: If you switch over to a new food be sure to do it gradually by mixing and don't just give an entire bowl of the new food one day. There are plenty of threads on YT on how to do it properly!

I'd try to apple bitter spray the gate. Unfortunately, Rylie loved the stuff for some reason and literally LICKED IT OFF any of the furniture we put it on so it didn't work for us :rolleyes: It works for A LOT of people though, so I'd try that.

@Caw: AWESOME SUGGESTIONS! I will try them! :)

I hope you find them helpful...Good luck and keep us all know how things are going. Take care.

I tend to agree with this opinion. Our Pepper is 1.5 years old, and is pushed to 'keep it in' for 8 hours, whilst we are work.

When younger, he used to be in a puppy pen, until he started climbing out. After a friend's puppy broke her legs in 4 spots after climbing out of a pen, getting her leg caught, Pepper now stays in a locked room, with newspapers in a designated spot. And, if he can't hold on... well, he uses the newspapers. No problem for us! We then just clean up when we get home.

I would question a dog being confined in a small crate for extended hours.

Just a note about the xpens! We have a new yorkie puppy, she will be 5 months old on the fifteenth. I had her in her xpen in another room with the door closed - it was at night. About 5 am I heard her barking and it sounded like she was at the door. I went in and she was out and the xpen was all sealed up. I was puzzled so I put her back in the pen and sat down to watch. In less than a minute, she had JUMPED out of that pen! Since then, she thinks she has wings! She is jumping on and over everything she can find! We have attached a sheet over the xpen and she had not been able to get out again but I worry about her taking a flying leap off the couch! She is a happy little thing but wow is she active! Any thoughts on calming her down! :-)