another crate question - please help

I'm just getting worried since it's been almost 2 weeks now and Golem still does not like his crate and pees in it every day. Even when we make it fun - he does not want to go in there and prefers to sleep on the floor under our dining room table. Craig and I are going to call the breeder tonight to see what his advice is, but the only thing we can think of at this point is that maybe the crate is a little too big for him? This is the crate we have for Golem now, with the divider panel.



It measures 48Lx30Wx34H, and the divider panel is also 48L. We have the panel all the way at the front of the crate so he has enough room to turn around, but maybe he still has too much room? We don't know - so Craig moved it up a little this morning so we'll see what happens. We can only adjust the panel horizontally too, so I don't know if the height of the crate might be too much for him, and if so - should we just get a smaller crate until he's able to hold his pee a little more? Then I don't know if that would confuse him even more by introducing something new at this point....... I have SO many questions!!!!! I'd love any advice you can share, I'm so confused and just don't know what to do sometimes!
thanks so much!!

Re: another crate question - please help

Chewie didn't like the crate no matter what we did. The bad Mommy that I am lets him sleep in the bed since week 3 of having him. I think the crate you have is fine as long as he doesn't have alot of room to move around.

Re: another crate question - please help

my rottie pup HATED his cage and peed in it as soon as he went in there, the cage didnt last long b/c all he did was cry so we locked him in the kitchen during the day instead, this was after a month of cage training, he was potty trainined pretty quicky (i think this breed are quick learners) but I feel for you, we just packed up the cage and sid forget it, now hes much better, he stays in the kitchen and thanksfull never ate or tore anything up, (except my shoes if I leave them in there LOL)

Re: another crate question - please help

I would definitely call the breeder but he is still a puppy and is still able to be trained to like things that he doesnt naturally like. It sounds mean, but if you dont do it while he is a baby, it could be worse later with a VERY large doggie.

Keep us posted on what the breeder says.

Re: another crate question - please help

I am waiting for the breeder to call me back - he has the best advice for us and he's been so great about sharing that info with us!

Craig and I keep telling ourselves that he's still a baby yet, and doesn't really have the control down - but at the same time, I don't want to just write it off as that if there's something else that we should or shouldn't be doing. Rotties are so smart and I don't want him to keep doing this and thinking that it's okay either.....

I'd never imagine I'd have this many questions and concerns over having a dog - amazing what experiencing it for yourself will do! :) I'm so glad there are other Rottie moms here on LIW too, that really helps me out a LOT right now! Please FM me if there's anythign else you can think of that might help us with Golem and his crate, and THANKS!!!!