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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:
crumpet · 29/05/2023 20:39

Our crate had a blanket over it so it was a space that was hers to retire to when it all got a bit much

tabulahrasa · 29/05/2023 21:03

babyproblems · 29/05/2023 20:33

I’ve never crated a dog and don’t see the point of it at all. They’re family animals and need to be within a group or feel part of a group at least. I expect she’s doing it because it’s causing her distress… why are you using a crate? She should be fine to sleep in a basket. Dogs don’t tear your house up overnight. A contented dog will sleep happily in a basket in the same place on a regular basis.

I mean... dogs very much can tear up a house overnight, or chew and eat something dangerous.

Crate training done right is about keeping a dog safe and happy, done right isn’t shoving a puppy in to cry it out though.

I currently have two dogs here, one is about 2 1/2 got him from a rescue at 5 months with some pretty major behavioural quirks, one of which is a fear of feeling trapped so while because of some of his other issues he could really do with a crate, crate training never went past trying the door closed because it panics him, though he will happily go in and lie down with the door open.

The other is we think about 1, he arrived on Saturday straight from pretty horrific living conditions, they’re getting on fairly well given the existing Dog’s issues, but the new dog isn’t housetrained, doesn’t know what is or isn’t edible (and hasn’t been fed enough previously so is extra fixated on eating things) and we don’t want him loose to wind up the other dog, so he’s crated next to our bed overnight. It may or may not be a long term solution depending on how he gets on.

My last dog was crate trained as a puppy, the plan had been to phase it out once he’d finished chewing, but he then developed medical issues requiring crate rest and behavioural issues caused by the medical issues, so we kept the crate. Most of the time as an adult dog, the door was open and he’d lie in it or not depending on how he felt, but we had somewhere to pop him in that he felt happy knowing people he was scared of couldn’t get to him, but they could be in the house.

Different dogs, different uses of crates -depending on what they need.

IngGenius · 29/05/2023 21:19

Chickpea17 · 29/05/2023 18:17

She only 9 weeks sound like you didn't do enough research before getting a puppy. You should be taking her out every 2/3 hours day and night.

This is just wrong - puppies do not need to go out every 2/3 hours in the night.

Many puppies will sleep several hours from 8 weeks of age without needing a wee.

Chickpea17 · 29/05/2023 21:35

IngGenius
Puppies will pee more because they are potty trainingg and because their bodies need more water to keep them from becoming dehydratedd rapidly. Puppies should be taken out to urinate every 2-6 hours depending on their age. They should usually be able to hold their urine the same number of hours as their age in months.

Lightningrain · 29/05/2023 21:39

For those people that don’t do crates and think they’re cruel…

Have you considered that having your dog happy in a crate might be useful for vet stays, groomers, travel in the car, an injury that requires strict crate rest?

My dog didn’t need one as a puppy as she wasn’t a chewer but she’s had several inpatient procedures at the vets since and I’m sure she would have been far more stressed at the vets had she not been conditioned to a crate.

When we go to stay with family she chooses to go in her crate when she’s had enough of the other family dogs for peace and quiet. She definitely doesn’t see it as aversive in any way.

My friend’s dog sustained an injury recently requiring an emergency operation and 8 weeks crate rest for recovery. He had never been crate trained and the first couple of weeks post-op were hell for that dog. If he’d been crate trained I’m sure he’d have been happy resting in his safe space rather than feeling like he’d been trapped.

Yes, it’s wrong to just put a puppy in a crate and let it cry but a properly conditioned crate where a dog is happy and relaxed can be so useful.

Bovrilla · 29/05/2023 21:41

100%.

You have to carefully condition puppy to the crate so it becomes their safe space.

Even then it doesn't always last. Mine is ok in one still be won't sleep in one any more. I am not going to force him to now he's past the chewing/destructive stage.

babyproblems · 29/05/2023 22:43

I’ve never had a dog that has been properly walked/exercised, fed, had a consistent routine and been ‘part’ of our family group that’s ever chewed or destroyed anything. All examples I’ve ever seen of dogs being destructive comes from their needs not being met. I’ve had six complex rescues in my time and with time and the right environment, all needs being met and a good daily routine they’ve all adapted and I’ve not had a single case of anything chewed or having to use a crate. You can use seatbelt adapters for the car. Obviously if hospitalised at the vet they are in a pen or crate but I don’t see this as a valid enough reason to use one at home. If you maybe have to use a hospital bed occasionally in your life you wouldn’t install one at home to get used to it so I just don’t buy that arguement.

Toooldtoworry · 30/05/2023 05:44

@babyproblems have you ever owned a bull breed? I've got three. Two chewers. Both boys weirdly. My eldest boy used to chew the dining chair 'H' to the point that they broke. He had brain training, exercise, actual training and another dog to play with, and he still chewed. My other boy (13 mths now) is a chewer too. Same situation.

I've always crate trained my dogs. Mainly for their safety. They all see it as their safe space and even though all of them have beds they choose to go to their crate when tired and wanting sleep. The youngest is still 'door closed' at night because he got bored one night and decided to try and eat his way through the hall wall to his treats in the kitchen.

Youngest had to have an op recently and the vet was surprised at how relaxed he was in his crate, so it must be unpopular to crate train now. Personally, until youngest has stopped chewing random objects I think it's safer to crate him.

Lightningrain · 30/05/2023 06:01

@babyproblems your post clearly shows what the issue is. Far too many people anthropomorphising animals.

Of course you wouldn’t trial a hospital bed but as a human you can be told and understand that staying in the bed is required for your health. A human that hasn’t ever laid in a hospital bed isn’t going to be stressed by the bed. A dog that has never experienced a crate likely will be.

I don’t ‘put my dog in a crate because she’s destructive’. She’s never chewed or destroyed anything and we very rarely shut the crate anyway so for the most part it’s no different to a dog bed. The option is there however if/when we need it and because she’d been properly conditioned to it there’s no stress involved.

I hope your dog never has a serious injury requiring strict crate rest! After 8 weeks in a crate that he’d never been in before my friend’s dog actually learnt to enjoy it, but for the first couple of weeks he was very stressed and they were worried that he would cause damage to the leg that had been operated on trying to get out. They asked the vet if they could just supervise him closely out of it but the answer was no so they had to persevere. We have her dog to stay when they go on holiday and he now chooses to go in my dog’s crate (no longer uses one at home) rather than the various dog beds and sofa so clearly the dogs do like being in them.

tabulahrasa · 30/05/2023 06:40

babyproblems · 29/05/2023 22:43

I’ve never had a dog that has been properly walked/exercised, fed, had a consistent routine and been ‘part’ of our family group that’s ever chewed or destroyed anything. All examples I’ve ever seen of dogs being destructive comes from their needs not being met. I’ve had six complex rescues in my time and with time and the right environment, all needs being met and a good daily routine they’ve all adapted and I’ve not had a single case of anything chewed or having to use a crate. You can use seatbelt adapters for the car. Obviously if hospitalised at the vet they are in a pen or crate but I don’t see this as a valid enough reason to use one at home. If you maybe have to use a hospital bed occasionally in your life you wouldn’t install one at home to get used to it so I just don’t buy that arguement.

Chewing is perfectly normal puppy behaviour and fairly common in dogs coming from a less than ideal home.

Yesterday I stopped new dog chewing amongst many many other things, a rug and a table... I can’t do that while I’m asleep, I also can’t supervise the two dogs together while I’m asleep and they’re not yet at the point that having things given to chew can happen in the same room without supervision.

New dog needs to be able to wake me up when he needs the toilet.

I could make the older dog miserable by shutting him elsewhere and sleeping with the new dog loose and hope he doesn’t chew anything I can’t move beforehand.... but why would I when using the crate keeps everyone happy?

Woeismeitappears · 30/05/2023 06:44

inhave had a Labrador pup who detested the crate so I didn’t use it. Now have a golden retriever who appears to love it. Takes herself in and hasn’t messed it in. She’s 9 weeks and I put her to bed at 11, get up at 3 and then 6.

re feeding her, she’s fed 4 times a day at 6, 11, 3 and 6pm.

Madamecastafiore · 30/05/2023 06:58

I reckon at 3 months ours stopped crapping in their crate, they're just babies and can't hold it all night, it will pass. Don't use puppy pads, they then think they can soil indoors, they need to know that it's only outdoors where they go to the toilet. Don't get up either, just know you'll have to clean up in the morning and it will pass eventually and they'll get used to not waking you in the night.

HeiXiong · 30/05/2023 07:06

Madamecastafiore · 30/05/2023 06:58

I reckon at 3 months ours stopped crapping in their crate, they're just babies and can't hold it all night, it will pass. Don't use puppy pads, they then think they can soil indoors, they need to know that it's only outdoors where they go to the toilet. Don't get up either, just know you'll have to clean up in the morning and it will pass eventually and they'll get used to not waking you in the night.

So your advice is just to leave your distressed puppy sleeping in its own shit all night?

what a fine example of responsible and kind dog ownership you are

DarkForces · 30/05/2023 07:09

Madamecastafiore · 30/05/2023 06:58

I reckon at 3 months ours stopped crapping in their crate, they're just babies and can't hold it all night, it will pass. Don't use puppy pads, they then think they can soil indoors, they need to know that it's only outdoors where they go to the toilet. Don't get up either, just know you'll have to clean up in the morning and it will pass eventually and they'll get used to not waking you in the night.

Wtf am I reading? You can't leave a dog in a shit covered crate

Chickpea17 · 30/05/2023 07:31

Madamecastafiore · 30/05/2023 06:58

I reckon at 3 months ours stopped crapping in their crate, they're just babies and can't hold it all night, it will pass. Don't use puppy pads, they then think they can soil indoors, they need to know that it's only outdoors where they go to the toilet. Don't get up either, just know you'll have to clean up in the morning and it will pass eventually and they'll get used to not waking you in the night.

Are you joking?

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 30/05/2023 08:01

Madamecastafiore · 30/05/2023 06:58

I reckon at 3 months ours stopped crapping in their crate, they're just babies and can't hold it all night, it will pass. Don't use puppy pads, they then think they can soil indoors, they need to know that it's only outdoors where they go to the toilet. Don't get up either, just know you'll have to clean up in the morning and it will pass eventually and they'll get used to not waking you in the night.

What a disgusting way to treat a living animal - just let it cry and sit in its own shit all night?

Some people shouldn't be allowed pets.

AgnesX · 30/05/2023 08:02

9 weeks and she's away from her mum? Way too young. Poor pup.

Chickpea17 · 30/05/2023 08:21

AgnesX · 30/05/2023 08:02

9 weeks and she's away from her mum? Way too young. Poor pup.

Puppy leave their mum between 8-to-10 weeks

IngGenius · 30/05/2023 08:36

Chickpea17 · 29/05/2023 21:35

IngGenius
Puppies will pee more because they are potty trainingg and because their bodies need more water to keep them from becoming dehydratedd rapidly. Puppies should be taken out to urinate every 2-6 hours depending on their age. They should usually be able to hold their urine the same number of hours as their age in months.

Not at night. You should take a puppy out when they wake not every 2-3 hours regardless.

Many puppies will sleep for 5 hours at 8 weeks without waking at night.
9 weeks a lab puppy could easily be sleeping from 11.00-6.00 without waking

IngGenius · 30/05/2023 08:39

@Chickpea interesting you quote from an America site which is fully in favour of crate training and recommends you leave your puppy in the crate over night and only take out when they cry.....

Chickpea17 · 30/05/2023 08:53

IngGenius · 30/05/2023 08:39

@Chickpea interesting you quote from an America site which is fully in favour of crate training and recommends you leave your puppy in the crate over night and only take out when they cry.....

You have complete lost the plot if you think you only take a puppy outside when it cry's 🤯🤯

QueenCamilla · 30/05/2023 09:43

quietheart · 29/05/2023 17:24

@Badgeringabout of course they are for owners convenience. My dog doesn’t have the run of the house, he’s not allowed in some rooms, also for my convenience.

I had never seen a caged dog (on telly only, at that moment the dog is confiscated due to being subjected to cruelty and/or neglect) or a "roaming" cat with a home&owner until I came to live in the UK.

It all seems made just so, for the owner's convenience. It's so convenient, that pets are everywhere like pests in the city I live in.

Pets are not easy to care for and that fact self-limits the ownership. Typically. But the British have found a cunning way to out-source the troubles to a cage or their neighbours. Kinda' clever, really.

QueenCamilla · 30/05/2023 09:49

@quietheart
And I don't quote in a bad way. I love convenience as much as the next person. I sleep trained my baby to make my life so, so much easier.

I just can't stand the fecking righteousness where everything a British person does is for someone else's greater good - cages for the dog's comfort and roaming for the love of cats (until they die a premature, painful death, then it tends to change).

YouProbablyWontLikeTheAnswer · 30/05/2023 11:35

quietheart · 29/05/2023 13:44

@YouProbablyWontLikeTheAnswer

You probably wont like my answer but that's bollocks my puppy has always been in a crate, he was a puppy not a baby, he wasn't lonely, he's absolutely fine. If my family is his pack then he is at the bottom of that pack, he is secure and well loved.

I think it's more likely to be a feeding problem.

You're talking bollocks too

YouProbablyWontLikeTheAnswer · 30/05/2023 11:37

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 30/05/2023 08:01

What a disgusting way to treat a living animal - just let it cry and sit in its own shit all night?

Some people shouldn't be allowed pets.

Show quote history

I agree