Dog Health Questions: Crate training failed miserably?

My siberian husky is puppy pad trained. She's 13 weeks and uses it every time without fail. We're trying to train her to go outside, but to do that we need her to learn to hold it while we're at work. So instead of leaving her out like we usually do (she does fine left to roam with a puppy pad). One of our dog-training friends recommended crate training her and showed us how.

She sleeps in it so she was comfortable at first. We left her in there periodically while we ran errands (1-3 hrs... then 4 hrs). She did fine. One time she peed - which caught us off guard. But she did it on the blanket inside the kennel. And so we removed the blanket thinking it would solve our problems.

Today was the first day we left her there through a workday. She was there from 10-4. When we came home poop and pee was EVERYWHERE inside her crate, all over her, it was a disastrous mess. She kicked it so it splattered through the bars and all over our carpet and was caked on her paws and hind legs. Her white fur is septic-brown looking. Yes. Very gross.

She was scared out of her mind, whimpering, crying.... it was bad

This is really confusing because dogs aren't supposed to pee or poop where they sleep.

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Recommended Answer:
A 13 week old puppy can only be expected to "hold it" in a crate for 2-3 hours. If she managed 4 hours, she was doing pretty good. The only exception is night time...most puppies WILL sleep 6-8 hours through the night without getting up to potty, but since they eat & are naturally active during the day, their digestive system works a bit faster as well.

You left her in there for too long, too young....crating is a "tool" to help encourage the dog to "hold it"....so that you increase the chances of success when you bring her outside to potty. She's crated when you can't actively supervise her, or when you leave the house for SHORT periods of time....to prevent her from chewing something harmful & pottying on the floor.

It won't be until she's 5-8 months, that you'll be able to expect her to hold it for 6-8 hours. Even an adult dog shouldn't be crated much longer than 8 hours on a daily basis.

You can use the crate now if you can hire a neighbor or pet-sitter to come by and let her out every 3 hours. Or you can keep her in a puppy-proof room, or X-Pen, with puppy pads on the floor that she can use. Use the crate only for short periods in the daytime (like when you're making/eating dinner), at night, and when you leave the house on short errands. It's also not a bad idea to feed her in the crate, and give her a daily "time out" for an hour, with a filled Kong toy to chew. Keep the crate a positive place & keep her accustomed to using it, that way by the time she's old enough to last a full workday, it won't be a problem for her. Right now she's got to be a little traumatized, so you should work to "repair" this experience with lots of positive associations.

Good luck. :)

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• She simply couldn't hold it the whole time you were gone and she seemed distressed that she messed up her sleeping area. Stick with the pads if she does well on them while you are at work.


• put her in the crate for short periods of time as you were before BUT NOT FOR A WHOLE WORK DAY! so she is ok with the crate still but use the puppy pads for the minute as she is FAR TOO YOUNG TO LAST THAT LENGTH OF TIME WITHOUT GOING TO THE LOO!
  Wait until she is around 6 months of age, THEN begin to put her in her crate for longer and longer each day.
  You may find it helpful to make a note of when she toilets during the day so you know when to crate her and when to let her out.
  huskies are very energetic dogs and can easily develop behaviour problems if not given enough physical and mental stimulation. A husky may not have been the best breed for you knowing that you work long hours.


• What went wrong? You left a dog in a crate for 6 hours when it was used to going to the bathroom every 1-4 hours... or peeing on the puppy pad. Even I would pee in my bed if I can't hold it any longer and no one would let me use a bathroom.
  
  I know this crate training is the new hype, but if your dog is fine without it, why shove your dog in a crate for a few hours? (Personally, I am against crate training unless it is necessary. If a dog may mess on the floor, at least stick them in the kitchen with a baby gate so they have a little freedom.) Let the poor girl roam the house as normal and pee on the pad as normal. Keep the crate though. You can use it to secure her in the car during car trips (say, car trips to the vet).
  
  Lesson of the day: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. :)