my dog weeing in a crate

Question
I have a 1 year old cavalier bitch, who is house trained but insists on weeing in her crate on a night when she does not do it during the day. We have tried allsorts taking her water from her at tea time (5.30-6.00)makeing her last walk on a evening longer, haveing her out more during the day and takeing her pillows and blankets out and putting newspaper in and she still continues to wee throgh the night. she is really a pamperd pet and is not in her crate through out the day just during the night when we are in bed. Please help thanks

Answer

Hi Gay,

It's a good idea to withhold water after about 8pm, and to be sure your dog has a quick trip outside just before you go to bed.

How big is your dog's crate? A crate need only be big enough for the dog to stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably. A crate that is too large will afford the dog room to have an accident, and still lay down in comfort.

You don't need to put any bedding inside the crate, especially if your dog has been soiling in her crate. Also, clean the crate with an enzymatic cleaner, such as Nature's Miracle or Simple Solution, so any lingering odors won't be attracting your dog back to mark inside her crate. Have you tried crating your dog in your bedroom over night?

Another thing you might try, rather than containing your dog to her crate over night, have you tried containing her to part of a room, with the help of a child gate or two? Be sure to put newspaper down over the entire containment area, just in case she has an accident. Some dogs just do better with the child gates than a crate.

As a last resort, you might try using doggie diapers for the over night period. Just wearing the diaper might be enough of a deterrent and stop the accidents. If she should soil in her diaper however, you'll want to clean your dog's skin with mild soap and water, and be sure to dry her well after. You don't want the urine to irritate your dog's sensitive skin.

Best of luck!

Patti