5 mo Boxer peeing in crate

Question
Hi Jaz,

We have a wonderful 5 month old boxer named Gus.  When we are home and he is free to roam the house, he will let us know every time when he needs to go outside by crying at the door.  But when we leave for 4-7 hrs a day for work and place him in his crate, he pees.  At first this seemed like a rare occasion, but now he does it every day.  We make sure he goes before he is in his crate too.  We do not, however, make him sleep in the crate at night.  He is usually on the bed, or by the bed and will go through the whole night or wake us up if he needs to go.

We also have an 11 yo female lab mix who stays in the house with him while we are away.  Could having our older dog out while Gus is in his crate be creating this problem? ANY help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Sara  

Answer
Hi Sara,

IT could be that he isn't clearly understanding the concept of not peeing in the crate. How big is the crate he is in? If it is big enough for him to sleep in the back and pee in the front then he isn't technically peeing where he sleeps. The crate should only be big enough that he can comfortably turn around.  I would also remove the bedding so that it doesn't absorb the pee at one end and still remain comfortable at the other end.  

Try crating him at night so he gets more experience not peeing in his crate.

Your 11 year old isn't creating this problem.

Jaz