Need help with charlie

[JPuckett1989]

Ever since charlie has gotten back from the vet, he pee's in the kennel while we're gone. I'm pretty sure its because he was at the vet for so long he probably got used to peeing in the kennel, and now thinks that is an appropriate place to go.

When he's out of the kennel he does fine, never goes in the house, and goes all night long in our bedroom without going.

What can I do to break this? It makes it really hard to do anything about it because it happens obviously when we're not home. It doesn't matter if we take him out before we put him in there, if he's in there more than hour it seems he ends up peeing and we have to give him a bath and clean out the kennel every time. It's really starting to get old, and I don't like having him sit in his own urine for hours.

[Maxy24]

I would just get an X-pen and put him in there with a puppy pad (or several if he doesn't gravitate to it). That way he's not sitting in it and it'll be easy to pick up.

[JPuckett1989]

Originally Posted by Maxy24

I would just get an X-pen and put him in there with a puppy pad (or several if he doesn't gravitate to it). That way he's not sitting in it and it'll be easy to pick up.

Good idea but 1: he'd jump it in a heart beat, he already jumps our 4 foot fence. 2: I really don't have 60-70 bucks to spend on one and 3: I don't have the space in my house to put such a thing.

[Barb04]

Have you cleaned the kennel floor with Natures Miracle? It might do the trick by at least taking the urine smell out of the floor.

[JPuckett1989]

Originally Posted by Barb04

Have you cleaned the kennel floor with Natures Miracle? It might do the trick by at least taking the urine smell out of the floor.

No I haven't I thought about scrubbing it with a mild bleach and water solution just haven't had much time to do it.

[JPuckett1989]

Scrubbed and cleaned the kennel today. Later we put it back together because we were going out, and we weren't even gone an hour and he pee'd in there again. I'm at a loss. Can a dog pee out of anxiety? I know he has some seperation anxiety and I'm wondering if thats what's causing it.

[*blackrose]

A dog can certainly pee due to separation anxiety - Cooper does. Luckily for us, it is only when he is left loose and not when he is crated.

You're right that it could also be a learned behavior from the kennel. What does he do if you leave him loose in a room (gated off/door shut) while you are gone? Does he still have accidents, or does he do alright? If he still has accidents, I would think it is either a house training issue (can't remember how old Charlie is), or a separation anxiety issue. If he's fine, its likely a crate issue.

[AdrianneIsabel]

Are you making sure he pees before you leave?

[JPuckett1989]

Yes we make sure he pees before we leave.

Charlie is 7 months old now. We left him in our bathroom (we live in an older house) and despite our "dog proofing" he managed to grab the carpet in a corner some where and peel the carpet back off the linoleum that used to be there, but he didn't pee"

I don't think it's a house training issue because we haven't had a problem with him since he got back from the vet. He had an accident in the house once or twice when we got him back, which is also why i think he "learned" this problem at the vet by not being taken out enough. Because before he had his surgery we've only had one maybe 2 accidents in the house in the 4 months we had him.

I think I'm going to start making sure we have a Kong toy made before we leave, and put that in his kennel and see if it keeps his mind of stuff and keeps him from going in the kennel.

[*blackrose]

I would maybe try dog proofing a small room (or hallway) again and trying that just once and seeing how he does. If he pees, then you know it has to do with you leaving and not the crate. It won't be a long term solution if you have a hard time dog proofing, but I still think it would be something to try just to see what you're dealing with. You'd handle a crate peeing issue differently than separation anxiety.