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The doghouse

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Original poster

I thought dogs were meant to not mess in their crate!?

153 replies

Mumma2Ro · 29/05/2023 01:22

Hello
we’ve got a 9 week old Labrador. She’s amazing and we are so in love with her.
but she keeps pooping in her crate!! A bit more context, it’s only been when she has been in her crate with the door shut. So either over night or when I’ve been on the school run.
I thought the whole idea of the crate was that it was their safe space and they don’t mess in there!?
never any wees just poos.
Her Poos are very soft atm while we are transitioning her from raw food diet to kibble. Could this be why! Is she struggling to hold it. But it doesn’t happen any other time, all the rest of her poos are done in the garden. It’s 1.30am and I am yet again putting wash on 😩😩
sorry for the rant. Any advice please.
just now I went down as soon as she started crying, I never leave her crying in there.

OP posts:
Twiglets1 · 29/05/2023 06:41

The thing is … this stage passes.

Our puppy mainly slept in the kitchen ( on his bed) as it had a tiled floor. We didn’t want to have to wake up every 3 hours so just accepted that he would do poos overnight and we had to wash the floor every morning.

We didn’t show any annoyance whatsoever as he couldn’t help it. We just praised him when he went in the garden and he was completely house trained by about 3/4 months.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 29/05/2023 06:44

The fact that she only does it when she's left alone tells me it's probably more anxiety-related than anything else.

She's a baby and you've taken her away from her home, her mum and her siblings, taken her to a brand new place and then leave her all alone while you go out or go to bed - she's scared!

I do think leaving a 9 week old puppy all alone in a crate downstairs is a massive ask. Before coming to your house she'll never have slept alone, and all of sudden she's expected to just get on with it - some puppies might cope but a sizeable chunk of them won't. They need company.

Either someone needs to sleep downstairs with her or you need to move the crate to your bedroom and slowly move it to where you want her sleeping long-term once she's settled and happily going through the night without messing her crate or becoming distressed - which can take weeks or even months.

Badbudgeter · 29/05/2023 06:48

As other pp have said she’s a baby and can’t hold it in. Crates are a safe space because they are cosy and comfy with a blanket that smells of mum. I didn’t close the door unless travelling.

OpalescentFly · 29/05/2023 06:50

At 9 weeks she really should be on 4 meals a day. Three bigger meals could mean everything is passing through too quickly hence the soft poos.

Jellybebe · 29/05/2023 06:52

When ours was a puppy we used to set an alarm for the middle of the night to take her out for a wee. Dogs do not want to do their business in their crate but at that age their bladders are not big enough to hold it in all night hence they need to be taken out.

fancreek · 29/05/2023 06:57

Why are you taking her off her natural diet and putting her onto kibble?

EverythingsCominUpMilhouse · 29/05/2023 07:05

We got our golden retriever pup when she was just under 9 weeks and crate trained her from day 1.

We bought a large crate with a divider to make it smaller till she was bigger - if the crate is too big, the puppy/dog will use part of the crate to go to the toilet.

Make sure the crate you're using isn't too big.

ElmTree22 · 29/05/2023 07:05

She should be on four meals a day, definitely make sure the kibble is grain free. My boy had runny poos when we first got him and it was due to a grain allergy.

Woeismeitappears · 29/05/2023 07:06

I am a fellow 9 week old owner and did this with my lab 5 years ago.

Indont know if it helps but my first lab never took to the crate. Intensely disliked it so we got a puppy pen which worked.

Eevee (our pup) loves her crate but she has lots of good experiences in there, we feed her in there and whenever she has a nap we put her in there (with the door open). I’ve read that a general rule is that they can only physically hold themselves for an hour per month of life so at the moment we are taking her out every 2 hours. The first night she pooped everywhere in her crate but that was my fault as I didn’t know her cues. Last night she didn’t have any accidents but I was in the garden like clockwork every 2 hours… who needs sleep eh?

the risk is that if you let her relieve herself in her crate it will effectively become a very uncomfortable puppy pad for her.

itispersonal · 29/05/2023 07:08

I personally don't think there is anything wrong with putting a puppy in a crate, ours was crated from one day and she still sleeps in a crate now 5 years later, it's her 'bedroom'.

What is the size of the crate? It could be it is too big for them at present so they have the space to mess in it. Although if it is diahorreay that could be from the change over from raw to kibble! Also the first weeks/ months of a puppy is like having a newborn they are sleepless nights and early wakings!

quietheart · 29/05/2023 07:10

Why are you switching her food and why are you feeding her 3 times a day? I would think 4 times a day for a puppy and it could well be the kibble that is upsetting her stomach. It swells and 3 times a day might be overfeeding her too much at once.

My puppy has always been in his closed crate overnight, he wasn't in the bedroom, he was downstairs from 8 weeks old and we went to him when he cried or we could hear him moving around. We let him out very late at night, once through the night and then early morning.

I would look at your feeding, how often is she pooing through the day? How long after her meal?

Toooldtoworry · 29/05/2023 07:16

All mine (I have 3) are raw fed. Youngest is 13 weeks old.

First question I have is how big is the crate? At this age you need to make it like a den. Big enough to move but not too big.

It sounds like you're doing the right things re: toilet training but kibble digests differently and causes softer, smelliest larger poo's so I'm wondering if it's the food you're giving.

Branster · 29/05/2023 07:19

I personally don't favour crates but a lot of people say it works for their dogs so maybe they are OK.
9 weeks it really is very, very young.

I would consider taking her with you on the school runs for a start.

It could well be the case that she is one of those dogs that doesn't take to the crate the way most dog owners expect it to happen. So maybe leave the door open overnight and cover the floor with newspapers in the hope she goes outside the crate to do her business then uses the crate for sleep. If such a young puppy needs to go, it needs to go.

I also would think changing her diet so soon after moving might be a problem for her tummy and general wellbeing. She's already had a huge disruption separating from her first home. Unless you got her from next door, even the water is different from what she was exposed to when at the breeder. Such small details can upset their tummies. Give her a bit of time.
I second the poster advising 4 small meals instead of 3 a day.

quietheart · 29/05/2023 07:22

Do you leave her crate open during the day and do you put her in it when she is settled, even if she gets straight back out? As my puppy got older I also closed the crate while I worked at the kitchen table (wfh) so he could see me. We did this so that our puppy did not always associate the crate with being left alone.

He will now go in his crate himself when he wants to and is settled when the crate is closed even during the day when he's alone. We never fed him in his crate, he doesn't have toys in there as he is a chewer. It's just his bed and blankets.

helppleaseneeded · 29/05/2023 07:23

9 weeks old is very young..
we have a sausage dog and he took from 9 weeks - 15 weeks we'd have to get up once a night to let him out as he just couldn't hold it... once he was used to being fed 2 hours before bedtime he realised he needed to poop after dinner or hold it till the morning.

You just need to get into a routine and be very consistent xx

helppleaseneeded · 29/05/2023 07:25

Sorry just seen your replies
If you're going down when she is howling it's probably too late.
We found our dog would cry once he pooped in his cage but not before

Polkadotties · 29/05/2023 09:45

Mumma2Ro · 29/05/2023 06:14

Oh that’s good advice thank you. But what if she is crying to go out and I ignore her ? I don’t think my heart could take leaving her to cry

Show quote history

If, for example, it’s been 30 mins since she last went out then it’s attention seeking and should be ignored.
I would buy something like this, my lab loved hers, we went through several.
We never used puppy pads, why would your train a puppy to poo and wee in the house?!
Our lab never poo’d in the house, she did a couple of wees in our lounge after playing when she would get over excited. Never went in her crate.

I thought dogs were meant to not mess in their crate!?
Badgeringabout · 29/05/2023 11:06

EverythingsCominUpMilhouse · 29/05/2023 07:05

We got our golden retriever pup when she was just under 9 weeks and crate trained her from day 1.

We bought a large crate with a divider to make it smaller till she was bigger - if the crate is too big, the puppy/dog will use part of the crate to go to the toilet.

Make sure the crate you're using isn't too big.

Yes make sure that you use a tiny cage for your puppy OP. 🙄

Badgeringabout · 29/05/2023 11:11

OP you are changing a tiny pup's diet - why? Did you discuss this with the breeder as I cannot imagine that they would advise this with such a baby?

You surely should be feeding her four times a day not three? Again - have you asked your breeder's advice on this?

She should be with you overnight.

Finally caging dogs is not something I would ever do. I can see how a cage might be made in to a comfortable den for a dog - WITH THE DOOR OPEN - but caging any dog for hours, especially a tiny puppy, seems to be to be cruelty. Ditch the crate or at least have the door open FGS.

Badgeringabout · 29/05/2023 11:13

oakleaffy · 29/05/2023 01:49

For a young pup you should be setting your alarm and taking her out every 3 hrs through night- They can’t hold wees for long.
Have her in the same room as you- you can hear when she stirs and take her out then.
The first dog I had from RSPCA they said “Don’t leave her downstairs- you’ll never get her clean”

I followed their advice of keeping her in my bedroom ( Crates weren’t a thing back then) and taking her out throughout the night- just like attending to a newborn as PP said.

She was a dream to housetrain- approx 16 weeks old when we got her.

I do the same with my pups.

Badgeringabout · 29/05/2023 11:14

Oh also OP you should absolutely not be feeding your puppy dry kibble if that's what you intend to persist with. Always moisten it.

mrsbyers · 29/05/2023 11:19

Can you not give her the run of a room using baby gates ? A tiled floor or LTV ideally like the kitchen or utility and leave pads down outside her crate , gradually move the pads to the back door but also get up to encourage her to go out overnight. Pups often poop or pee quite quickly after eating so again feed her early evening and then she may be clean

Sisisimone · 29/05/2023 12:28

Your pup is anxious, crying and shitting in the crate. Did it cross your mind that the crate isn't working for you? Many dogs just never adjust to a crate. We tried everything to make the crate a safe place for our pup and he absolutely hated it. We moved him to his own bed in our room and have never had a problem since.

Why are you leaving him crying and shitting locked in a crate instead of just taking him on the school run?

YouProbablyWontLikeTheAnswer · 29/05/2023 12:33

Get rid of the bloody CAGE. The puppy is far too young for that. At 9 weeks old, she has only just been taken away from her mum and siblings. She's a baby. Dogs are pack animals - they are meant to be in a pack, which is now your family - and your poor puppy is lonely.

IngGenius · 29/05/2023 13:06

OP loads and loads of misinformation on this post.

You do not need to take you puppy out every 3 hours at night (especially a labrador)

The puppy needs it sleep!

Many labs will soon stop needing an overnight wee or poo at about 10 weeks and will go from 11.00-6.00.

You have a few choices

Sleep near your puppy so you can hear when they wake and need to go out

Put the crate with open door in a pen (to stop the chewing) and then the puppy will wee or poo in the pen.

This will NOT slow down the toilet training - puppies prefer to sleep than poo and as soon as they can will stop pooing at night.

Puppies do not need grain free food
Puppies do not all need moistened kibble

Getting rid of the "Cage" may not be wise advice for a chewing labrador and may be a safer option to have them in a space area.

This could be achieved by a pen - however pens have added risk of the puppy injuring themselves trying to get over the top of it, so make sure it is sturdy and high. The crate can be put into the pen

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