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Question
I recently read a question someone asked about their Great Dane puppy eliminating in his crate. We have a 16 week old Great Dane and are having the same problem. This evening after walking her along with are 3 year old Boxer, I let them play around in the house for a while before feeing her in her crate. We usually put a blanket in for her to lay on, but there wasn't one in there because she had peed on it during the day and I had taken it out to be washed. After she finished eating I took her out, she peed, and returned her to her crate to eat dinner. She peed in her crate and started whinning. I did not catch her in the act, so did not scold her. I took her out gave her a bath, cleaned her crate and put her back in with her toys and no blanket. She started whinning; I told her "no." About a minute later, she peed in her crate again. It seems as if she is doing it to get out of her crate. What do we do? She gets a lot of attention, daily walks and play time. The only time she is in her crate is when we are not watching her.
It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first. What the puppy
wants more than anything else is to be with others, you, anyone else in the
household, and any other pets. In our modern society, even if we are home,
other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have. The
only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around. Leave it some toys. Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter. Don't leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up. Rather than relaxing and catching a nap in their den, some puppies protest by fouling the crate. I haven't had this problem. I see many questions suggesting it, and saw my daughter fight the problem.
A wire grid in the bottom of the crate will help keep the puppy up out of urine and to a lessor extent stools. They are available with the crates, but expensive and hard to find. A piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. This reduces the mess, making the protest much less effective. The longer haired the puppy, the higher it needs to be. In warmer weather, you can just haul the crate out and hose everything off. When the puppy sees you coping with the situation, and you stand your ground, most of them give up and learn to relax, and that you will return. One more thing that may help is using a smaller crate, or blocking off part of a larger one so the puppy can't fouled one spot and retreat.
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Answers by Expert:
Labman
Expertise
I can help you with your new dog. I am experienced in, and trained in techniques the average person can make work with dogs, especially puppies. I strongly believe in obedience training and the need to give your dog proper leadership. I have been raising a new puppy every year since 1991. I know housebreaking and protecting the puppy and the house from each other. I can explain the the feeding regimen you can easily follow to give your dog the same long, active life life as highly valuable dog guides. I try to give answers you can make work. The mark of a real expert is knowing the limits of his knowledge. I will not try to answer questions on breed standards, AKC registration, etc. PLEASE DON'T SEND ME MEDICAL OR BREEDING QUESTIONS. An internet forum is not the appropriate place for them. Even if I could tell what was wrong from a handful of symptoms, you would still need to get the medications from your local vet. Breeding should be left to those not needing to ask simple, basic questions. Books have been written about it. Rather than ask me a question, start reading. Those unwilling to do the work it takes to produce quality puppies should spay/neuter their pets at 6 months. I will not answer questions that sound like a poorly prepared breeder.
Experience
Like many, I grew up around dogs, but never realized how much I had to learn before my family started socializing puppies for a large dog guide school. The school shares their experience from thousands of dogs with the people they entrust to raise their puppies. Their recommendations on training, feeding, and care come from a large, well documented program. After it is a year old, they X-ray every one of the hundreds of dogs they breed every year. I continue to attend monthly training sessions with trained volunteers and professional staff. I share experiences with others doing the same. The school must have sturdy, healthy, well behaved dogs, that will have a long, active life. If that is what you want too, I can help you. In addition I have done extensive reading, and the 4 years my daughter was in 4-H were a real learning experience for Dad too. That exposed me to more breeds than the Labs, Shepherds, and Goldens in the dog guide program.
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