Help! Roscoe still peeing in the house!

[ginagt]

Gina, if I have any questions about crate training while I'm training him in it, do you have a problem if I pm you? Thank you guys so much for your help!

Sure anytime.
Good luck.

[Kosy]

If you try crate training and rehousetraining from scratch and the problem doesn't go away, thne I would recommend that you do try a bellyband overnight. It could save your sanity. While it may merely be a Band-aid solution, it's better than having your dude mark .

[ESS-lover]

A crate is like a den to a dog- it is NOT doggy jail or prison. And it will save your relationship with your dog.

Also a puppy can only 'hold it' for about 2 hours longer than his age in months - i.e a 3 month old puppy can only hold it 5 hours.

A gate on the kitchen won't work because the area is too large. Dogs don't want to get their feet in the stuff or lay in it - so a crate (using a divider if necessary) and having it just big enough to lay, stand & sit in is the easiest. It is 'their' space - where they are safe, etc... Cowboy goes in on his own to sleep when he is really tired. Do not use bedding a towel etc in it for now... that would absorb any accident and he can still stay dry.

After being crated - take him out immediately for now - he'll learn quickly.

Also, take his water and food away about 2 hours before your bedtime - and give him a quick walk before you head to bed. When you come in, crate him immediately.

[JenBKR]

Also a puppy can only 'hold it' for about 2 hours longer than his age in months - i.e a 3 month old puppy can only hold it 5 hours.

LOL I don't think I'll have too much trouble with that - he's 4 years old

Thanks for the advice, hubby and I are talking. I'm the one that thought up the crate, and my trainer said the same thing. I was just worried since I don't know his training history

[ginagt]

Thanks for the advice, hubby and I are talking. I'm the one that thought up the crate, and my trainer said the same thing. I was just worried since I don't know his training history

Since you don't know his prior experience or training with the crate. I would start out with door open and see what he does, are you clicker training him? If so I would click any movement towards the crate, I would not force him in at all, if he goes it yeah, and lots of treats inside. If he doesn't want to go in then that is ok for now. What I would do is feed him right next to the crate for a week, then right inside the door, so his head is inside the crate but his body is not. Each week I would move the bowl a little bit further in until his entire body is inside the crate, do that for at least a week, keep feeding him inside the crate and close the door. When he is finished wait a few minutes before you let him out. Leave the door open to the crate all the time, so he can choose to go in and out if he likes. This is a slow process, so don't rush it. If he is not ready to move on to the next step then go longer than a week, a little work now will pay off huge in the long run. Good luck.
Gina

[.sarah]

You've gotten some really great advice here. I just wanted to say that letting him have full run of the house at all times can cause/reinforce dominance. He will start to think he is above you in the pack in no time, and this is not the route you want. Having to go back to square one with a dog who thinks you're below him isn't easy Crate training is essential, and like everyone else said just train him as if he were a puppy since you don't know if he was ever trained before. I am crate training Luka at the moment. When she first got here you literally had to pick her up and shove her into the crate, not easy with a dog her size. But I *couldn't* let her have the run of the house because I didn't know if she would chew stuff up. So I started throwing a treat in there to get her in and give her lots and lots of little training treats and lots of praise right after I put her in. She's learning to love the crate, and for the most part she is walking in by herself now, and I've only had her two weeks.

Good luck!!