dogs peeing in crate

14 years ago

I have had two rat terriers since April. One is 2 one is 4 years old. I adopted them from a shelter. They basically fudged the truth about the dogs. Said they were house trained (they were/are not) and some other things. I make sure I take them outside several times a day and stay out with them until they do their business. However, neither of them will go to the door when they need to go out. I tried giving them treats when they go out but then the younger one caught on once when she cried to go outside and I took her out and rewarded her with a treat. She spent the rest of the night whining wanting to go out (to get a treat) not because she needed to use the bathroom.

So instead of treats I just praise them for going out. When I can not watch them I have to put them in their crate (a large wire cage) because otherwise they will poop and pee on the carpet and are ruining my floors. They are in their crate for nine hours while I am at work. THey are also in their crate at night for 8-9 hours. I used to let them sleep on my bed but they would get down in the middle of the night and make a mess on the floor.

Recently I have noticed that one of the dogs is peeing in the crate. It happens when I am at work, and it happened last night when I was sleeping. The dogs have been to the vet to check for infections and they received a clean bill of health. Any dogs that I have had before would NEVER mess up their crate because it is where they sleep. I am going to separate the dogs and place them each in a different crate tomorrow to find out which one is peeing in the cage.

Otherwise I have no idea what to do. There is no way I can have someone let them out during the day while I am at work, I make sure they go outside right before bedtime. They do not have access to water in their crate.

I have no idea what to do. Any ideas?

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Comments (2)

annzgw
14 years ago
Hopefully you realize that when a shelter says a dog is house trained, it usually means that in a foster home or previous home the dog had learned to go outside. It never means that a dog in going to come in a new home and be perfectly trained. The dog has to adjust to the new surroundings and the new owner needs to treat the dog as though it's a new puppy coming into the home. 'House trained' dogs usually catch on fast so there's a shorter period of training.

Training one dog can take a lot of time, but you brought in 2 adult dogs which makes things even more difficult.
I'm not surprised you're having problems since the dogs aren't having much of a life. 18 hours in the crate out of a 24 hr day is not fair to any animal. Rat terriers are smart, active dogs and are quick learners. How much exercise do they get each day? Do you take them out for long walks after you get home or just quickly put them in the yard?
If you don't have the time needed to train and exercise them, then I think you should consider rehoming at least one of the dogs. Then you can work on house training the remaining dog so that he can live in the house vs a crate. From your description, it just sounds like you don't have much time to spend with the dogs.
newhomeseeker
Original Author
14 years ago
I work 8 hours a day and since they can't hold it overnight I have to treat them like puppies and keep them in the crate at night. When I'm home, during the summer I would always take them outside and play with them for about an hour, now playtime is in the house (the younger one loves toys), throwing a ball etc. They also like to follow me wherever I go so they get exercise that way. In the summer I used to take them for a lot of walks in the park. They are very hyper when I get home from work but after playing for awhile they want to nap.On weekends they are out of their cage the entire day if I am home which except for running errands, I am normally home. Sometimes (since it isn't hot out anymore, I take them with me for car rides (they love to ride in the car) I have thought about finding a good home for the younger one but I hate to separate them since they are pretty attached.
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