Newf puppy housetrained but not crate trained.

Our lovely boy, Denali, is 4 months old. He knows not to go in the house but will go (urinate) in his crate even if we are gone for only 1 hour. He seems to have no problems going into his crate (we have fed him, rewarded him, etc.) to sleep. He makes it about 4 - 5 hours at night before urinating in his crate. We limit his space in the crate (we have a "lifestages" style crate).
He did have a UTI but has been "cured" for three weeks and is still crystal free (we just had him tested). He has also had his liver/kidneys checked out; there has never been blood or anything like that so we don't seem to have physical issues that any vet can find.
He gets lots of play time and and we have started giving him water at specific times and have for weeks stopped giving him water after 8pm.
He will not poop in the crate, so he knows that it isn't the place to do this business.
Any advice?

Harold




Hi
It can certainly be a problem if your pup is comfortable urinating in his crate. He obviously has adequate bladder control as he can go several hours at night, and it seems as though his UTI has been cured.

I'm wondering if his crate is actually small enough though. The crates like yours that can be divided to make them smaller are a great idea, don't always fit quite as well as the others at different stages/times. It should be only just big enough for your pup to stand up, sit down and turn around - no bigger.

I'd also recommend that you clean his crate with an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle if you've not already done so. It removes all traces of odor that encourages your pup to eliminate in the same spot over and over.

If, despite of these measures, he continues to eliminate in his crate, the only thing I can suggest is that you buy a plastic/fiberglass crate that is small enough, and try that instead. Sometimes the open, wire crates don't trigger the 'den' instict in a pup the way the more closed-in variety do.

Other than this, there's not really a whole lot I can suggest, as there is no magic answer to this problem. It often rights itself as the pup matures, but is irritating while it lasts.

If anyone reading this has advice or suggestions that have worked for them, feel free to jump in.

Best of luck with this!