Excessive Barking & Urinating in crate!

[mlacey]

Hi everyone,
I have a 6 month old miniature doxie that I've had since he was about 10 weeks old. For the past month or so when he goes into his crate at night for bed, he will bark at the top of his lungs for a good ten minutes straight!! Then when I take him out of the crate in the morning, he has peed in his crate. He doesn't bark in the middle of the night to be let out. I'm almost positive he is peeing while doing his 10 minutes of barking before he gives up and falls asleep. I always take him out before bed and he goes to the bathroom. He gets a 10 minute walk in the morning, and half hour at night. He's only in the crate for sleeping- we have a play pen for the day.

Please please help!! the barking before bed gives me a headache and I can't keep washing his crate blankets every day!

For the most part he's almost potty trained.

Thank you!!! :dogcool:

 

[fickla]

I would first try to figure out if he is peeing when you first put him in it or if it's later in the night. I'm assuming you've been ignoring the barking which is why you don't know, which is a really good thing to do. I'm sure you know that attention can very easily reinforce barking. If he is not peeing at that time, I would try making the kennel smaller again so there's not room to pee and then sleep at the other end. You can also try removing the towels since I've heard of some dogs peeing and then pushing the towels into the pee so they can still sleep dry.

If he is peeing right away, that is generally a sign of anxiety. I think I would try having his kennel available during the day, and putting him in there more often than just at night. You can start by feeding him in it with the door left open, then giving him kongs stuffed with peanutbutter when he's in there for 2mn, let him out and take away the kong. Gradually increase the amount of time he's in there. You want the crate to mean really good things, and have it so going in the crate does not predict you leaving or going to bed. You can even try giving him something to chew on before going to bed too and see if that helps.
If he already loves his kennel and this really did just start recently, then maybe there's some change in his life that's stressing him?

 

[mlacey]

Thank you for the response!!

I'm almost positive he urinates during the 10 minutes he's barking. Most of the time, I'll find blankets pushed up agaisnts the door and he's sleeping in the back so I will try to make this crate smaller.


I would have to agree with you on the anxiety thing- he barks as if he think's he's never coming out of that crate!

We have the play pen during the day, and i tried setting it up so he could go into his crate as well but unfortunitly he breaked free of the playpen and snuck out! So I'll work on that. I'd like him to get used to/love his crate during the day too.

Any other suggestions/advice welcome!

 

[mlacey]

I put the crate in the kitchen tonight when we were in there.. he went in there on his own a few times- no problem. But as I type this, the crate is in my room ready for bed and he's barking his head off- going on 11 minutes straight right now. Ahhhhhhhhh!! Please help!

 

[Jean Cote]

Get ear muffs or ear plugs. If you let him out he will think that barking is a good way to get out.

 

[mlacey]

I know, I don't let him out until morning. I've read everywhere that if you let them out when barking, they think every time they bark they can get out.

 

[snooks]

A 6 month old mini doxie may not be able to go all night without peeing. I agree smaller crate but take him out once during the night. Remember he doesn't even have full control over his bladder or bowel muscles until he's 9+ months old. Smaller dogs take longer.

There is surely one way to tell. Wait until he stops barking and go check the crate for pee. You may have to endure another barking fit but you will know. Video cameras can be very helpful with this type of thing too.

There's a great DVD called crate games that helps make crates much more fun. Are you giving him a kong or treat when he goes to the kennel that might occupy him for a while. My puppy always has some special treat awaiting her when she goes into her crate so that it's always a great place to go. Frozen kongs are great safe things to put with puppy to go to sleep. http://dogs.thefuntimesguide.com/2006/02/dog_recipes_for_kong_chew_toys.php and http://www.labmed.org/catalog/kong2.html Be careful about the calories for this small guy, maybe freeze part of a meal but use a small kong and a little food.

I also agree crating at other times during the day and rewarding/releasing for quiet behavior might make it seem less like every trip to the crate is a long lonely quiet night. If the crate is not in your room at night you should move it there. When puppy can hear or see you the anxiety level goes down a lot. It might be louder for a few nights but it eventually stops if you ignore the racket.

Good luck and kisses to ur puppy. :dogbiggrin:

 

[mlacey]

Thank you! I'll try that. His crate has been in my room since we got him in August. .I can't even IMAGINE the barkig if he wasn't next to me!

I think he can hold it all night.. because he used to wake me up 2-3 times a night to go out and pee.. now he just barks his head off at the beginning of the night.

I'm going to try the frozen kong tonight.. thanks everyone!

 

[snooks]

For the barking in the crate at times other than bed time...which my puppy also did during the day when people came over I got a clicker trainer to come to the house. She stood by the crate facing side on to the puppy and didn't look at her. Whenever she was quiet for a split second, even if it as to inhale between barks she click/treated. Slowly the quiets got longer and she was able to get farther and farther from the crate. After a while I was able to add a quiet cue and go sit down and throw the treats to the crate. It's a wire crate so pretty easy to toss them in the top. Just another idea for some training during the day. :dogtongue2:

 

[lizzyrd]

For the barking in the crate at times other than bed time...which my puppy also did during the day when people came over I got a clicker trainer to come to the house. She stood by the crate facing side on to the puppy and didn't look at her. Whenever she was quiet for a split second, even if it as to inhale between barks she click/treated. Slowly the quiets got longer and she was able to get farther and farther from the crate. After a while I was able to add a quiet cue and go sit down and throw the treats to the crate. It's a wire crate so pretty easy to toss them in the top. Just another idea for some training during the day. :dogtongue2

I know this is old, but I really like the idea and I am going to try it. Thanks!