We have had our Bloodhound since he was 6 weeks old. He is now 11 weeks old. He is a great dog, until its time to get in his crate at night (or when we leave). We did pretty bad with him with the whole potty training deal. We didn't know this was wrong at but when our bh would pee we would rub his nose in it and said bad then put him in his crate. That is what we were taught. OK yall we know it is bad now. And now when he does it, we don't say anything, pick him up and put him outside til he does his buisness. But my problem is, he HATES going in his crate. He will pee in it. Give us no warning. I KNOW that he is scared to be in there. What can I do, for him to trust us, and for him to be comfortable in his crate? I honestly think he is peeing in his cage because he is scared. I want to build the trust with him again and I don't want him to be scared when he goes in there (and not pee!).
2007-01-12 02:54:27 · 3 answers · asked by sunnysideup 4 in Pets ➔ Dogs
well, we had it sectioned off for his size, but he was peeing in it so much at night that we at least wanted him to have enough room to move away from it. I think we are going to have him sleep in his bed until he gets used to his crate again!
2007-01-12 03:10:53 · update #1
Imagine this. You are a young kid, you rely on your parents for everything, and they lock you in a cage and leave. That is how he feels right now, but it doesn't have to be that way!
Right now, when he gets locked into the cage he associates it with you leaving either for the night or a few hours. This terrifies him because he hasn't got a SINGLE positive feeling about that cage.
There are several ways to change this! First of all, your goal overall is to make the cage his "home" or his "safehaven". A dog will NEVER soil an area he considers to be his safehaven. Start by leaving the door open all the time and encourage him to go into it. Put treats or his meals in the back of the cage so he can associate it with food. When he wants to play games (such of tug of war), place him in the cage and play through the opening. When you are giving him affection, do so while he is in the cage.
Also, since he is a puppy, the cage may be a little too big for him. He should have just enough room to stand up, turn around and lie down. Any bigger than this, and it could feel very uncomfortable for him. If it is too big you can always make it smaller by putting up a temporary divider for now.
2007-01-12 03:05:57 · answer #1 · answered by bpbjess 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You must make him think of this as his den-. Make it comfy, a nice blanket, some toys. You are always just locking him in it-he feels like its jail-not a safe place. Give him a special toy-one that he only gets when he's in his crate-like a Kong toy-fill it with Peanut Butter or liverwurst for him to work on. Take the door to the crate off-so he knows that you are not going to shut the door on him. let him investigate it-give him the special toy I mentioned.
Eventually start shutting the door.
As for the peeing-is the crate large enough to fit him as an adult? If so find a way to make the crate temporarily smaller-a piece of ply wood to block of the part he doesn't need. A crate should be just large enough that he can comfortably stand up, turn around and lie down fully extended. If larger than that he will pee in the part he's not using-he doesn't see it as part of the den.
2007-01-12 11:07:28 · answer #2 · answered by TommyGirl869 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Building trust with a crate can take some time. Start off slowly. Get his favorite treat and entice him in there with it. Don't close the front. Walk away for a minute, come back and pet him. (or repeat as necessary if he leaves it in your absence). Do this several times before you close it on him for the night.
Basically, if you treat the crate like it's his home, he will be comfortable, and won't pee on his bed.
2007-01-12 11:03:24 · answer #3 · answered by Karma 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋