DH and I have a 10 week old Bull Mastiff puppy and we love him very much but the past couple of days he's been having accidents in his crate. We've had him for 3 weeks now and the first 2 1/2 weeks he had 0 accidents in his crate and now all of a sudden he's just been soiling almost every day! DH thinks he's being spiteful. I don't think he's sick bc he's not acting sick. Does anyone have any advice???
CourtandJon
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Re: Dog owners-PLEASE HELP!!!!
Hmmmm is his crate really big? I am only thinking that because you may have gotten a big crate anticipating how big he will get, but he is prob pretty small as a puppy and may have too much room in there. That happened with our dog when we first got her- she would go to the opposite corner of the crate, go to the bathroom, then go back to her bed on the other side, so we blocked off half the crate with a laundry basket and she stopped immediately.
Mrs A in May
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Re: Dog owners-PLEASE HELP!!!!
That's a good point. We did get a large crate anticipating his size but DH installed a partition in it so his area isn't that big. We thought it was small enough since he's been good for 2 1/2 weeks, but I think you may be right. He may still have too much room in there. Thanks!
zoe282
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Re: Dog owners-PLEASE HELP!!!!
They always say that dogs won't poop where they sleep but that wasn't the case for my dog. Crating her didn't work for me. She's still a puppy...how long do you have her in a crate before she has accidents? New puppies are like babies you have to let them out late before you go to bed adn get up early. Their bladders/bowels can't hold it in yet....
milana
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Re: Dog owners-PLEASE HELP!!!!
He is not being spiteful at all he is a puppy and doesnt know where he is allowed to go and where he is not. Like mentioned above the crate is most likely too big for him which is why he is going to the bathroom where he is sleeping. Another thing is that a puppy needs to use the bathroom every one-two hours, are you letting him out to go that frequently? If not he is going to go in his crate because he cant hold it.
meg922
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Re: Dog owners-PLEASE HELP!!!!
Try giving him his food in his crate. The breeder suggested that to us in case we had that problem with our puppy.
HTH
ant n tilde
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10 weeks? He is still a puppy and he will probably have accidents for another six months or so.
I agree with making the crate smaller if you want to crate train. We trained our dog on the wee wee pad and then brought it outside - he did well with that!
He is way too young to be 'spiteful.' Are you doing a lot of positive reinforcement when he DOES go where he is supposed to?
PegaLega
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The crate should literally be as long as he is laying down. If he wasnt having accidents before try and take him out twice before you put him in.
PegaLega
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Posted by meg922
Try giving him his food in his crate. The breeder suggested that to us in case we had that problem with our puppy.
HTH
I wouldnt do this, yes the saying is animals wont eat where they sleep but he will begin to expect it in order to get in the crate. What we do and its worked for us is giving her a cookie when she goes into the crate instead of food
Mrs A in May
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Re: Dog owners-PLEASE HELP!!!!
It's really weird, he can go hours in the crate w/o having an accident like at night. DH will take him out at 11 and he'll be fine until 6 am when I take him out. So I know he can hold it, it's like he's choosing not to now. Maybe he's just realized that he can go and then move to the other side of the crate. We've started using treats when he goes outside to reinforce him.
PegaLega
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Posted by Mrs A in May
It's really weird, he can go hours in the crate w/o having an accident like at night. DH will take him out at 11 and he'll be fine until 6 am when I take him out. So I know he can hold it, it's like he's choosing not to now. Maybe he's just realized that he can go and then move to the other side of the crate. We've started using treats when he goes outside to reinforce him.
Then the crate is definitely too big. I dont think he is being spiteful just yet. Give him a treat when he goes in the cage and another when you get home and let him out AND make the crate smaller. Also you can try putting a blanket in the crate. Make sure its a blanket that if ruined you can throw out. But it may help
FullersBride
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Re: Dog owners-PLEASE HELP!!!!
Dh and I raise guide dogs for guiding eyes for theblind and we have crate trained over 50 dogs.
here are a few things...........
Your crate is defenitely too big. The dog just needs to be able to stand up and turn around, thats it........... Give the puppy a week or so pf no accidents and gradually increase the crate size a few inches at a time........Our 6 month old, still doen't have full access to the crate.
NO feeding in the crate........................
NO blankets or towels in teh crate since they can pee on that and it will soak up the urine and not dirty their space. NO dog like to sleep where they pee poop and they don't like to get soiled.
Defenitely put some chew toys in teh crate for puppy to chew on while you are out.
THe puppy should go outside to 'get busy' , that is the command we use, before you put them away. Praise the dog when they are 'getting busy'
Take the dog outside as soon as you take them out of the crate, don't linger in the house, outside RIGHT AWAY>...................Again praise them for 'getting busy' outside!!!
If the puppy does have an accident in teh caret of the house use 'natures miracle' or another enzyme cleaner to clean up the accident. and neutralize the smell so they don't smell that they have urinated in that spot before.
Remember that the usual guide line is that a puppy can hold their bladder/bowels 1 hour for each month old they are.so 10 weeks would be 2.5 hours.
You can't expect them to always hold it longer than that. A larger breed dog, such as a mastiff can usually hold a little longer. THis si just a guidline. A lot of our pups at 10 weekscan hold 6-8 hours during the night but during the day can only hold 2-3 hours.
Dogs don't really start peeing out of spite untila year or more. IF puppy is still peeing in his crate after doing all of the above then puppy may be sick, UTI, bacteria or somethign else..........
Good luck!! Mastiffs are beautiful!!!
jenn122397
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Re: Dog owners-PLEASE HELP!!!!
we read that puppies can hold it for as many months they are plus (i think2?) so if the puppy is 2 months, she can hold it for lets say 4 hours
the best thing is to get the puppy on a schedule so he/she starts to learn when/where its ok to go. there will be some accidents - that happened with our puupy too - she was great for the first month, then she had a few accidents and after that shes been pretty good. good luck!
Mrs A in May
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Re: Dog owners-PLEASE HELP!!!!
Wow, thank you all for reasponding with such great suggestions! I think it's a matter of the crate being too big and he's just figured out how to go w/o sitting in it. Thank you all so much!
Yes, FullersBride, Bull Mastiffs are beautiful!!
This is my first dog as an adult. The last dog I had was when I was 9 and I've had only cats since so this is a VERY new experience for me!
FullersBride
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Posted by Mrs A in May
Wow, thank you all for reasponding with such great suggestions! I think it's a matter of the crate being too big and he's just figured out how to go w/o sitting in it. Thank you all so much!
Yes, FullersBride, Bull Mastiffs are beautiful!!
This is my first dog as an adult. The last dog I had was when I was 9 and I've had only cats since so this is a VERY new experience for me!
Congrats...........enjoy every moment......One piece of advice....always keep a hanky or some tissues around when your mastiff is bigger.....helps wth the droolys......
