Pooping, peeing, screaming in crate

[oksa24]

My B is constantly doing that. How do I stop it? I take him out before he goes in and he still has some left in him to do his business.

[RedVelvetLynx]

Hi -

It was no more than a month before my male (by then, 4 months old) simmered down in his crate. I never had issues with his potty training - I was always taking him out - how often are you crating him? And how old is he? Denver still screams in his crate from time to time, but nothing like he did when he was first introduced to it. It was so crazy loud & it took a lot to ignore his fits, but it paid off.

[tanza]

@oksa24:

My B is constantly doing that. How do I stop it? I take him out before he goes in and he still has some left in him to do his business.

That would also be my question, how long is he in the crate?… what is his normal daily routine? Is he getting enough exercise?

[oksa24]

He is about 7th months. I take him out 3-4 times a day. He is house trained, but the only issue is the crate. I keep him in there 5 hours max.

[NerdyDogOwner]

5 hours in one sitting? For no reason other than to keep him out of the way? Sounds long to me.

Try assosiating the crate to something nice, leave it open throw in treats to him to run in and get. Try letting him lay in there with the door open etc. Have his food bowl close to it when he eats.

I have yet to get my Basenji, so I don't know how a Basenji reacts to this type of training. But I did this with my other dogs with great sucsess. They ended up going in the crate themselfs during the day and layed in there.

Trick is to get the dog to enjoy being in it.

[RedVelvetLynx]

@NerdyDogOwner:

5 hours in one sitting? For no reason other than to keep him out of the way? Sounds long to me.

Try assosiating the crate to something nice, leave it open throw in treats to him to run in and get. Try letting him lay in there with the door open etc. Have his food bowl close to it when he eats.

I have yet to get my Basenji, so I don't know how a Basenji reacts to this type of training. But I did this with my other dogs with great sucsess. They ended up going in the crate themselfs during the day and layed in there.

Trick is to get the dog to enjoy being in it.

That is indeed the trick. Five hours may be long, but I'm assuming so because you have no other option?
Crate hate can be very trying to one's patience. I don't think Denver EVER saw a crate while he was at his breeder's house - she let them run around all over - inside & out - which isn't bad, but was not conducive to my living situation. So, I had to be the bad guy & introduce the crate. I thought he was never going to tolerate it. I used (and still use) lots of treats - treats to get him in there, treats while he's in there, treats when he sits in there before I let him out. I don't know if your B is food motivated, but if so, use that as much as possible. Anyway, I would put Denver in his crate for a bit at a time. The screaming was deafening. I consistently ignored him & when a sufficient amount of time had passed, I would wait until the second he was quiet, pop out with treats & let him out. Like anything else, you'll just have to work with him & be consistent. Nowadays, he just hangs out in there & hardly complains. As far as the potty prob in the crate - I dunno - he could be rebelling against the crate - he knows if he pottys in his crate, he'll get out? That one's tricky. I know everyone says a dog will not potty where he lays, but I say not so - my female used to poop in her crate because she was mad about Denver going outside to potty first - and when she was really mad, she'd stomp all up in it. Yep, took a lot for me to just blow that off & clean it up. Do you reward him when he goes outside? And also, there was just another thread on this - don't take your B in right after he does his business, as he'll end up taking longer because he'll catch on that going potty = going inside right after. I hope some of this helps…
The only thing I can't believe is the fact that some people have Bs that will actually lounge in their crates with the door open?! My Bs are okay with their crates, but don't spend anymore time in there than they have to!

[NerdyDogOwner]

Oh yeah, just remembered something else. If he has a fav toy, make sure in the morning when you let him out, to put the toy (without him seeing you do this) in the crate. That way, when he is looking for it and keeps finding it in the crate he will start to assosiate the crate with fun time.
Make sure to also put it in there when he is not using it, having to search again.

"I wanna play, were is my toy? Ah yes, my crate! Weeee!"

Haha, you get the idea.

As for peeing and pooping, how large is the crate? Dogs hate doing this were they sleep, but if the crate is too big and "roomy" they will pee/poop in it. Try reducing the size. Either get a divider for the crate, or stuff in a box or simular to shorten it a bit.

[Basenjimamma]

Otis doesn't really love hos crate but he sleeps in it when he feels like and at night, and of course if I crate him during the day. I leave the door open while we are home and he just goes in a lays down, and that is what I do at night too, I only close the door to his "room" if I am crating him because I am not home. It is funny, because our other dogs will not set foot in his crate, they know it is his space..We also trained him with special treats and toys for crate use only.

[nomrbddgs]

The peeing and pooping in the crate is related to a stress reation of being in the crate. Doesn't matter that you have just taken him out and he had pooped. Stress relaxes the bowels and you can see the results. Very good suggestions here. Start with association of the crate with good things and short times and try to work up from there. Obviously you can't do this when you are not at home, but when you are, I would still try this. Sugar was very much like this. She will still fling herself in the crate, but she will settle down (especially if she can't see me) and will relax in the crate. Try feeding him in the crate as well-first with the door open and then gradually close it.

Sugar was a stress bucket in the crate as well, and I have got her to the point above. In fact, I just came back with her being in the crate for two weeks travelling in the car. Although she threw herself and did her exorcist routine, she didn't poop, pee or hurt herself. So the crate training can happen, it just takes repetition and patient-more on your part than the dogs.

[oksa24]

Thanks all for the advice. I only put him in the crate when he needs to be in there. When I'm home he always is with me. But like last week I was on a mission trip in Oglala, South Dakota, and my friends took care of him, and he was a lot worse with them. It was the 1st time he was with out me. How can I control separation anxiety? I believe that is the issue as well.

[NerdyDogOwner]

@oksa24:

How can I control separation anxiety? I believe that is the issue as well.

Sadly this is the side effect of being the pack-leader.

This usually has to be done in baby steps, and regularly. It is hard to accomplish if you don't stick to it.

I started off with small sessions. 10 minute trips out of the house a few times a day for a while (I think 2 weeks). Then start increasing the time gradually.

Me, being a nerd and all :p, I have a security camera that connects to the internet. So what I did was went outside to a bench, which was within my wireless range, and watched my dog via my laptop. Timed him til I noticed he started getting nervous and might start ripping things apart, or started to make a lot of noise.
I then started pushing the time longer and longer. Eventually I could take trips out to friends for hours before he started to get upset.

Just be careful not to give in the instant he/she starts throwing a tantrum, and DON'T start soothing and comforting the dog when you come in. Just act natural like it's no big deal. Actually just ignore him a while. Even if he comes running up to you and wanting attention.
If you do, the dog will pick up that you can "hear" his cries out. And will never stop.

Eventually they will start understanding that you do indeed come back.

Again, I did this with my previous dogs, I will be using the same technique on my Basenji.

[lvoss]

Patricia McConnell has a book called I'll Be Home Soon that addresses Separation Anxiety.

http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/product/dog-separation-anxiety