I Have A 3.5 Month Cockapoo That I Am Trying To Crate Train. She Does Her Business In The Crate?
September 13, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
And even though I have the training pads outstide the crate, she still does her businesses in the crate. She yells and barks profusely when she is in the crate wether I am at home or not and I believe that she thinks that I will let her out if she does her business when in fact I am letting her out so I can clean the crate. Please help…. Note I have had her for 4 days; she was brought home from a pet store
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First of all, she has been forced to go potty in her crate so it is all she knows. You also have to remember that she is still a baby, and still has a small bladder that can’t hold her urine as long as an adult dog can. She should only be crated a MAXIMUM of 2 hours until she is older. Try to never leave her in a soiled crate.
You should get her a smaller crate, one that is just comfortable enough for her to sleep in. Put some soft bedding, a toy or two, and for now no food or water. Make sure you have given her a potty break before she goes into the crate.
When you take her out, go straight outside to potty first, no stopping to play, eat or drink, just go out and put her down. When she is done give lots and lots of praise, then you can have some playtime, and feeding. You should do this several times a day when she is still a baby, it takes patience but she will learn if you are consistent and treat her with love. Never use the crate for punishment, and never punish her for soiling her crate, simply clean it and take her outside to her potty spot and praise, praise, praise when she goes out there!
Best of luck, It will happen, remember she is young and still learning from you.
Good luck
Crate training is a great idea and usually works. Problem is, if your pup came from a pet store (which is a whole other issue, IMHO)she likely spent much of her time in a “cage”. While confined to the “cage”,she likely did his business in it, and since a crate is virtually the same thing, she assumes they are the same thing and so she continues to do her business in the crate. It will take time, patience and consistancy to break her of the habit.
First off, be aware that a puppy can only hold it for as many hours as she is in months of age. This means your dog has to releive herself every 3 hours or so. Make sure you reward her for going in the right place with praise and or treats, and never discipline her after an accident. IF you catch her in the act, a firm NO NO and take her to the right place to finish, and when she does, reward her. Also, many agree that smaller dogs can take longer to house train. My medium sized aussie was not “reliable” till he was 18 months.
Now crate training worked for me and my dog, but you have a tougher road ahead of you as she will easily confused her past cage experience with a crate. You have to make the crate a positive place for her to be- never use it as a place to punish her. Make sure it is the right size- too small is always bad, and too big allows her room to “go”. She should have just enough room to stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably. Leave the door open, put food /treats/ toys in there. Then start closing her in, but only for short periods of time (10 minutes) and then work up to longer periods.
You have alot of work ahead of you, but with patience and love you both can do it!
I’m sorry,but if she came from a pet store,she is probably used to sleeping in her own filth.Take her to the vet to rule out any health issues,and buy her a crate that is only big enough to stand up and lay down.
Take her for long walks as often as you can. Read the article mentioned below, and other articles on the internet as well. Get her into a routine.
Cockapoos are great dogs. We had one but had to put her down at age 15 1/2.
Her crate may be too large and gives her the freedom to eliminate her waste without feeling she has soiled her den. Make sure she has been let out to go potty before you put her in and have some sort of consequence for her barking in the crate (squirt of water bottle, loud noise on wall near crate) she needs to associate the adverse action with her barking…not you. The potty traing just may take some persistence, but I purchased a great ebook that helped me train my dog. Look for “your purebred puppy” on the net. Hope this helps.
put some blankets and lots of puppy pads in the crate and also some toys and when you put her in have a treat waiting for her in the crate.
My guess is that the crate is too large. How big is the crate?
If the crate is too large, the puppy may sleep at one end and urinate or defecate at the other.
You can make the crate smaller by using a plywood or cardboard divider. Increase the size of the space your dog uses as she gets older.
You can read more about the importance of crate size here:http://www.pawsitivesolutions.net/puppyh…
Jackie D. go back and read Kay’s question in dogs about cockapoos… I am having dejavue. same questions…same problems… does your dog have kennel cough and an ear infection too?
You cannot housebreak a pet store dog with a crate. They are used to having no choice but to pee and poop inside their confined space so she’s only doing what she is used to doing, so for you, crate training will not work. Remember she’s used to being inside a small area and barking her head off so you cannot expect her to change or be any different since that’s what she’s been doing since she was 8 weeks old.
Confine her to a small room like a kitchen and gate it off, put down puppy pads incase of accidents. Be diligent in your housebreaking, take her out 1/2 hour after every meal, then every 1-2 hours. If she has an accident within that time then you need to take her out sooner, take her out on a leash and walk her around using a command word and when she goes outside praise her and reward her, do this everytime she goes outside. Be consistent and be patient and most of all ignore any accidents she might have in the house. Punishing does not work and especially not rubbing their nose in it. They will be afraid of going in front of you and will make housebreaking that much harder.
Puppies are hard work when you picked up all of her bedding food and toys you should have picked up books on training and housebreaking along with crate training to fully educate yourself on proper training habits. Trust me it’s easy to screw up a dog and then wonder what the hell happened. Being fully informed is key.
She should not be confined to a crate while you are home, if you keep an eye on her and confine her to one area of the house and are diligent about her potty breaks then you will limit the number of accidents she will have. Signs she needs to go are circling and sniffing the floor, pick her up and take her out.
If you catch her in the act of squatting, clap your hands together and say OUTSIDE in a loud voice, pick her up and immediately take her out to do her business, when she goes praise her. Remember you need to stay outside with her in the yard until she goes if after 15 minutes no luck, bring her inside confine her to the kitchen then 15 minutes later try again. If she goes right after you bring her in then you know you have to stay outside a little longer.
Be patient and most of all BE CONSISTENT. Changing how you housebreak every couple of days will only confuse the dog, pick one method and stick with it even when you feel like its not working, eventually the dog will get it. But you have to be willing to work at it.