# Housetraining Adult Dog Who Hates Crate



## MJL (Apr 20, 2011)

We adopted a 1 year old dog 5 days ago. We are having issues with him pooping inside. The first few days he didn't have much of an appetite and didn't need to go. He will pee outside, in the form of him marking many things. But he has yet to poop in front of us outside, or at all. He has only gone when we are unable to watch him. (i.e. when we're asleep, when we’re away during the day) So, we unfortunately haven’t had the opportunity to interrupt and correct him. 

We initially planned to crate train him since dogs typically don’t mess in their crates. But he gets incredibly upset and anxious when he is in his crate. He resides in the dining room/kitchen when we are away. We have moved his bed to our room, because he was having such anxiety being away from us at night. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to housetrain an adult dog that dislikes being in a crate?


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I always say that whenever you get a new dog, give it a "refresher course" in potty training, no matter how old they are! 
Dogs don't generalize well, so if they were potty trained in one location, it doesn't mean they'll be ok in a new location. Plus, you obviously will have different routines and procedures at your house than at the shelter or rescue.

Basically, treat him as if he was a puppy (for potty training purposes).

- take him out every 2 hours or so. 
- say the magic potty words and give a yummy treat, really a high value treat, and lots of praise if he goes.
- take him out after waking up, eating, and playing.

When you ARE home, keep him in your sight, or tether him to you, so he can't sneak off to potty in the house. 
Clean up all messes with an enzymatic cleaner.
And, give him time! Five days is such a short amount of time!
Patience, patience, patience!


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## Puddin's Training Tips (Apr 9, 2011)

Thanks for adopting. 
And I'm so glad that you are not forcing the crate on the guy. Crates are great, but some will panic.

I have found that lots of rescues don't like people to watch them poop. My Lupe doesn't like men seeing her poop.

If it's safe, I suggest a long training leash (make sure it's secure (properly fitted martingale) and you aren't around traffic or people or animals) and a heard turn. When he looks like he wants to poop, turn your head. This might even work on a 6 foot leash.

For my Lupe, if I'm with a guy and I feel like she wants to poop, I just ask the guy to turn his head and she will immediately poop.

My Murphy is more shy than Lupe with pooping. Sometimes he won't poop in the backyard if I"m there. But he can't resist pooping at a park where lots of other dogs and other animals have pooped. *So I suggest super long walks in new and novel places*.

You might be able to speed up the poop process with some canned pumpkin (no sugar added) about 20 minutes before going on a walk.

You can umbilical cord yourself to the dog when you are home. That way, you know what he is up to at all times. and take him outside every hour when you are home. At least in the beginning.

You can babygate him off into a small portion of a safe room. If the portion is small enough, he might not want to poop. Or a doggie play pen might work as well. (but not too small, give him some moving around room)
http://amzn.to/gAtT54

You can try acclimating the dog to a crate. Go very slowly. Play crate games. Toss tasty treats in, leave the gate open. When he starts looking forward to the treats, then close the door for 1 second, let him out, later try 2 seconds, and so on and so forth.

And last but not least. Give it time. and by gallons of Nature's Miracle. I adopted a super scared dog. House training took us 6 months.

A little bit off subject. If your dog panics in a crate, he migh have separation anxiety issues - which can happen with rescues. You might want to start a prevention program. Start getting the dog used to you being gone.
A great book is "I'll be Home Soon" by Patricia McConnell http://amzn.to/ePwQnw

Additionally, Jean Donaldson, In her book Oh Behave says that a good Nothing In Life for Free program along side alone acclimation often works great: http://amzn.to/fd1zOQ

Great video on potty training below:







MJL said:


> has only gone when we are unable to watch him...haven’t had the opportunity to interrupt and correct him.


Be extremely careful with corrections. Also in the book "Oh! Behave," Donaldson speaks of "reverse housetraining". If you yell at the dog when he messes in the house, the dog learns to not mess in front of you. Which mean he never messes in front of you, outside, in the house etc.. The dog learns to wait until you are not looking to go potty. Which means he will potty when you are gone.
Scary corrections teache dog what not to do in YOUR PRESENCE. It doesn't teach them what not to do in general.
I don't know how you are correcting, but thought I'd mention that.

The video I posted also addresses this issue.

I like Doxiemom's post. She is right. 5 days is super short. The dog has plenty of acclimating to do still.

Sorry. One other thing I want to mention. I live with 4 rescue dogs right now and I didn't use a crate to housetrain any of them. So it's possible. 
Note, I'm not against crates, just didn't use them. 
Well the youngest did spend some time in a crate in the beginning, but she paniced like your dog so I gave it up. I'm now working on making the crate fun for her.


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