How can I stop my 9 mo. old female pitbull from peeing in her cage?

Question

why does my pitbull female puppy urinate in her cage and she had been let outside and had only been in her cage for a little while? She does well in the house by not peeing. Her cage is clean and it is too big for her. My other pit who is 2 1/2 & male never did pee in his cage when he was young. What can I do to stop this?
Real advice & suggestions will be appreciated.

Answer 1

She's peeing in there for a variety of reasons. First, as someone else pointed out, she may not be comfortable in a cage since most dogs are not comfortable being in restricted spaces (weren't designed for it), so she may be urinating out of stress and frustration.

She could also be doing it because she's going through her adolescence and is being rebellious against you making her do things she doesn't want to do, but again the motive is the same, she's very likely doing it out of stress and frustration.

Honestly, the fact she doesn't do it in the house in general says that's probably the culprit, and it's going to be a hard habit to break as long as she's doing it because she's mad she's in a cage.

Plus, her cage smells like urine, so she knows through scent it's a place she pees (the rest of the house doesn't). When you send her to other places which smell like the bathroom, what's she supposed to do? Why shouldn't she do it in her cage as well? Dogs aren't very subtle about these things.

You have to clean the cage much more thoroughly than you normally would to get rid of the smell (and will probably need an enzymatic cleaner specifically designed to neutralize the odor completely).

Once that's done, there are two sprays you need to look into getting. The first you spray in environments where you don't want the dog to urinate, which will discourage her from doing so. The second spray encourages them to urinate in certain spots, so when you let her outside to pee and she smells it, she will be encouraged to pee there instead.

When she does go to the bathroom outside (and at the training stage, you should go with her and keep a watchful eye), you should be very effusive with positive attention to reward her for what a good job she did going to the bathroom where she was supposed to, and even have a little bit of a treat (like a little liver treat or yogurt treat... they make some about the size of chocolate chips specifically for the purpose) to reward her for doing it where she is supposed to instead of where she isn't.

That way, she'll start looking forward to going to the bathroom in the appropriate place because that's what gains your approval.

Answer 2

She might be trying to mark her terriotory. She might smell your male dog that you had before that previously used that cage. If you didn't wash the cage out before you let her use it, that could be a very good reason why she keeps peeing. Wash out the cage with some soap and water and see if that helps any. If this continues and you can't do anything to stop it, try putting those special pads down that attract puppies/dogs to them to use the bathroom on.
Also, make sure you let her out right before you put her in the cage, and let her out for a long time too so she can do whatever she needs to do.
When we first got a dog, and were buying a cage, the salesperson told us that having a bigger cage encourages them to go to the bathroom in the cage because it's so big they can go to the bathroom and then go to the other side of the cage and lay down over there so they don't have to lay in it. Consider buying a smaller new cage and that will probably prevent the problem also.
Even though (saying you do) take all these precautions, I wouldn't be too surprised to see a slip-up once in a while.

Answer 3

It's because the cage is too big for her - some dogs will pee in their cages if there's room to go in one end and lie down in another spot. I think the best remedy for you would be to block off part of the cage. Depending on just what kind of cage it is, you can buy things for that or you can use some cardboard. She should only have enough room to turn around and lie down. As she grows, you can give her more room, and eventually she should be big enough for the cage, I'm assuming. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

The mother is supposed to break peeing of a cage by a dog. But this is a great example of what happens when either the puppy is taken away from the mother too early or when a puppy's breeding is a form of inbreeding. Bad dog, I would suggest making it an outside dog only or getting your money back from the breeders.

Answer 5

Ok first of all, if a cage is too big for a dog then they will pee/poop in it. The crate should be barely big enough for them to turn around. Thats the first problem youre making

Second problem is that unfortunately dogs can get used to it if they do it a few times, and then it becomes hard to break them of the habit.

Id recommend getting a properly sized cage immediately, and then if the problem continues you will need to do some hard work to break the habit

*edit*
The person above me who says its cruel is a retard. Please dont listen to this person as they have no idea what they are talking about.

Answer 6

when a dog has a cage it is the place where it sleeps so it wants to keep it clean. if the cage is to big then it will go over in a corner and pee. so if you get a smaller cage it might stop. if the puppy came from a bag breeder then there is a chance that it has been living in its own waste since it was born so you might want to try to get puppy training pads. good luck

Answer 7

You got some very wrong advise and suggestions. I am in my 50's and have had dogs all my life and you never ever rub their nose in it!! Their bladders are very small and can't hold it long. I have never put a dog in a cage, they are cruel. How would you like to be kept in a cage? That's imprisonment. You said she does well by not peeing in the house, so why are you putting her in a cage. Throw the damn cage out.

Answer 8

Try making the cage smaller as a rule dogs do not like to go to the toilet where there food is if the cage is to big this might be part of the problem

Also when letting her out make sure she goes to the toilet before locking her back up and reward her with a treat like a piece of apple dogs love apples

Answer 9

I had a dog that peed in his cage. That is not very common. If the kennel is to big, put boxes in the back to make it smaller, so she just has room to turn around and sleep. My dog peed where he slept, and that is against instinct and is not common. Try making the cage smaller. Some dog trainers told me when he is older he'll stop. So good luck, I hope you two get a good system

Answer 10

If someone put me in a cage I'd pee in it too! I don't believe in this "box" stuff for dogs, I feel its cruel. She is only 9 months old, her bladder is probably still small and when she sees she's going into a place she doesn't like, she gets nervous.