Using crate.....

[Rayna 3]

I read here in one of the sticky's that dogs aren't physically able to 'hold it', when needing to go to the bathroom, until around 4 months old. Mine are now 4 1/2 and are still continuing to urinate in their crates. So far there have been no accidents in the house and they are very good about going outside. However, they seem to get really excited when they see me coming to walk them and before I can get to them they've done it in their crate.

Do I need to just wait a little longer for them to be able to hold it? Or is there something I could be doing now to help the situation?

Thanks :)

[aelizilly]

I learned the hard way that it just takes patience. ;)

It wasn't until about 5 1/2 months that Bailey stopped having accidents in his crate. He was being crated about 5 hours and kept having accidents. All dogs are different, but somewhat of a gauge you can use is their age in months equivalent to hours should be how long they could hold it.

Say a 4 month old pup should be able to hold it 4 hours. But, again all pups are different.

[Barley'sMom]

If they only pee when you approach them in the crate, you might be dealing with submissive urination instead. Look it up in a dog book or on Google. Apparently the worst thing you can do is discipline it, if this is the case.

[makenzie71]

Accidents should never be "disciplined"...especially if they occur in a crate.

All you can do is be patient. Dogs do not like to "go" where they live and play...much less where they sleep. Once he's capable of holding it long enough, he'll grow out of it.

[Madaline]

As the person said before if they are doing it when they see you it probably is submissive urination. I have been very lucky with my dogs they have been crated since I got them at 8 weeks and they have never urinated in the crate and neither have any of my dogs in the past.

I dont know how long they are in the crate, but make sure you put them out to the bathroom right before you put them in the crate to go out and dont give them a big drink before putting them in the crate. By 4 months they should have quite good control of their bladders they say for about an hour for every month, so yours should be good for 4 hours at least. Madeline is 7 months tomorrow, she isnt left for long periods in the day as I do not work, but at night she goes from 11 pm to 9 am and has been doing that since she was around 5 months. She has really good bladder control, she never has accidents, Im so lucky she is such a good little dog.

Also how large is the crate, dogs do not usually like to urinate in the sleeping quarters, but if the crate is to large they may have to much room and go to the bathroom in there. Just have patience, it will come, they are still really young

[JennSLK]

Ok this is gross bu works really well for the few dogs Ive know that had to do it.

Take out all bedding in the crate. If they pee there will be no bedding to soak it up. They are NOT going to want to stand in it. It's like a crash course. Make sure the crate is near the door so they can go out with out tracking all over the house. You can wash off their paws too

[lpollockandrsn]

Make sure the crate isn't too big for the dog. They shouldn't be able to get to far from the indiscretion, that will help encourage them to hold it a little longer. They should have their own crates as well.