# Puppy eliminating in crate during the day. Should I use training pads?



## arksun (Mar 31, 2008)

I am currently crating my puppy during the day when I am in class. My summer schedule only has me away at 4 hours max. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am only away for 1.5-2 hours. 

This is from a day in a log I keep daily:
Wakeup: 6:40am- Pee
6:50am: Eat/drink
7:20am: Pee/Poop
7:50am: Pee
8:30am: Pee
9:15am: Pee
9:20am: I leave for classes
~12:00pm: Peed and pooped in crate
1:45pm: I come home from class.
1:55pm: Pee
2:10pm: Eat/Drink
Etc...

I give her plenty of chance to eliminate before I leave my place. I know 4 hours is asking a lot for a 10 week old puppy to wait, but she sleeps through the night completely fine. I don't have any one to take her out while I am gone. 

She currently has an exercise pen set up (that she doesn't like to stay in really). Should I lay down training pads ONLY for the hours I am away from class? I really don't want to desensitize her eliminating in the crate. Yesterday, she peed and pooped in the crating and was CRYING and HOWLING when I came back. Today, she peed in her crate and she was asleep when I came home. Her crate is adjusted accordingly so she doesn't have too much room to walk around.

Also, yesterday, I left her in her crate for 1.5 hours while I had to run an errand and I came home to a mess. I made sure she had a walk and chances to eliminate before I left.

I think I can expect a mess when I leave her in the crate during the day. Would using training pads only once in the day be okay with her housetraining process?


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## PeppersPop (Apr 13, 2008)

I think that part of the problem is that you are taking the dog out ever 30 - 45 minutes and then all of the sudden expect her to hold if for several hours.

I think you ought to decrease the frequency you take her out, especially if you know she's got some control over her peeing/pooping. Your expectations about going to the bathroom should be the same whether you are there or not... if she isn't holding it for 4 hours while you are there, then she definitely isn't going to hold it for 4 hours while you aren't there.

She holds it overnight because that's what you've trained her to do. If you started taking her out in the middle of the night, she would probably start peeing in the crate on nights that you didn't take her out. Another thing to keep in mind... sleeping dogs don't drink or eat, thus their need to pee/poop is less.

Putting a wee-wee pad in the crate/pen isn't going to fix the problem (but will most likely make it easier for you to clean things up). As long as you aren't using the wee-wee pads instead of taking her out / training and its temporary, I don't think its a big deal.

If you leave the wee-wee pads out 24/7, it would most likely effect her house training.

Regards,
Sid 



arksun said:


> I am currently crating my puppy during the day when I am in class. My summer schedule only has me away at 4 hours max. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am only away for 1.5-2 hours.
> 
> This is from a day in a log I keep daily:
> Wakeup: 6:40am- Pee
> ...


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

You say you are giving her plenty of chances to pee and poop but is she going when you take her out? If she has been sleeping in the crate all night, when she gets up in the morning and starts running around, she will definitely have to go but may be too interested in playing to really completely finish going before she is back in her crate. At ten weeks I would be inclined to put her in a pen with access to pee pads while you are away. How do you feed her during the day if she is in her crate? I do not think a puppy should be in a crate all night, then kept in a crate during the day. They should be confined somewhere safe but not in a crate until they are a lot older. I have done this with puppies I have raised and have had no problem training them to go outside.


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