# Advice, please- 4 year old housebroken dog, peeing in crate/house



## christiealde (Oct 20, 2008)

I am so frustrated.

We just got a 4 year old English Bulldog. For a month he did great- no accidents AT ALL. Awesome dog in every way.

One day he had an accident, then the next day the same, and more and more...  We were wondering what happened, but attributed it to an infected eye and nose crease- which we got surgically fixed at the vet, and he was on a run of antiobiotics. That night I got him a crate, since he was still a bit bloody, and I didn't trust him to not pee. 

He LOVES the crate- goes in there on his own, etc. Was obviously crate trained at some point.

But now he pees in it. All of a sudden, he can't make it through the night or through the day. 

We've been dealing with this now for about a week and a half. 

I let him out this morning twice, went to crate him before I left, and he had peed in there AGAIN somewhere in between me letting him out the first time and putting him back. 

What is going on?

Because he peed in it once, does he think he's supposed to pee in it all the time? 

What should I do or try? I am soooo frustrated. I love this dog like crazy but I cannot deal with this.


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

First and foremost, find out if he has a bladder or unrinary tract infection. 

Second, clean everything and remove the bedding from the crate. Clean with an enzymatic cleaner such as Nature's Miracle that removes the pee smell. Clean the crate and everywhere he has pee'd in the house with this stuff. If he has pee'd extensive on carpets, clean with the enzymatic cleaner and then have the carpets cleaned. Do not allow him free run of the house when he is not in the crate... tie him to you if you have to.. and get him out frequently. Do not allow him access to the entire house.. get baby gates etc. to keep him OFF carpeted areas. 

When he goes outside, praise and reward with food. I have been known to stuff a treat in the dog's mouth as they were going.. to be sure the relationship with peeing outside nad the trest is connected. Make it seem like he is peeing platinum when he goes where you want him to.. and interrupt him if he goes indoors and praise him for finishing up outdoors. 

When he is crated, you might consider a belly band (male doggie diaper) so if he pees in the crate, it is contained. It might also be a bit uncomfortable for him to be "wet" and he might just decide not to do this with the band on (not sure if that relationship would be made by the dog). 

However, the first thing you need to do is be sure he has no disease process going on, such as infection or anything else, preventing him from being able to hold it.


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## christiealde (Oct 20, 2008)

Thank you for responding so quickly. 

I bought the Nature's Miracle a week or so ago to treat the really bad carpet areas(2 of them). I'll clean his crate out with it as well. 

He has an appointment with the vet tomorrow at 8am. 

I'm thinking that his original accidents in the house were because he was sick... then I crated him and all went downhill from there- I'm wondering if he wasn't kept in a crate before for long periods of time and used to sitting in his own mess? He doesn't seem to mind it. 

I have a weird feeling that I could leave him out of his crate for the day, and he'd just go back into it to pee... think I should try it? lol

I also can't figure out why he won't make it through the night though.  Hopefully the vet will have some answers tomorrow.

I feel so bad for him. Ugh.


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## PlaidLizard (Oct 21, 2008)

If you find that there is no physical reason for him to be peeing, you may want to treat him like he is a puppy and start house training from the begining. Just give him a refresher course.

Good luck!


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## christiealde (Oct 20, 2008)

Took him to the vet this morning - nothing wrong with him at all. So that's good, at least!

In othe news- yesterday during the day he didn't pee in his crate for the first time EVER(since we got the crate), nor did he pee last night during the night. The only thing that was different was that I took all of his bedding out before I left for work yesterday, and decided to give it a whirl last night... and wouldn't you know, he didn't pee.

Must be something about the crate. I am really tempted to leave him out during the day tomorrow and see how it goes. 

Otherwise- like previous poster said-  I will just start over with the training. Ack!


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## Elana55 (Jan 7, 2008)

Seems fairly obvious that there was a smell of pee in the bedding and the bedding itself may have insulated him from feeling wet. 

Honestly, until you are 100% certain he is housebroken, the crate is a good idea. Just leave the bedding out of it. My dog has no bedding in her crate and is fine. 

The crate prevents any doggy mischeif from happening during the day (like chewed electric cords! ZOWEEE!) or "finding" a new place to pee...


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## plynn (Oct 21, 2008)

If you are still afraid that your dog might pee in the crate, and you want to try leaving him out when you leave the house,try barracading him the kitchen, but be sure to put some papers down for him ( you know, treat him like he was a new puppy)that way if he does decide to pee, at least he won't be making a mess in the rest of the house. I wish you luck.
Plynn
http://www.dogtrainingtipsclub.com/how-to-potty-train-your-puppy.html


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## kkcakes (Oct 9, 2008)

i agree.. check for bladder infection, if not... have you washed your floors with pine sol? my dog had the same thing happen, turns out that pine sol does something to take their scent away from the house, and they need to mark it again, because it it their territory.

hope i could help =]


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