Potty Training Trouble

[zeusexcalibur]

Hi,

I have an 8 week old English Mastiff male. He has been doing great on his potty training up until this week. He eats at 12noon and 5pm everyday. He gets about 1 cup of water and 1 cup of food at each feeding(which he gets for 15 minutes). Sometimes he finishes his food, sometimes he doesn't. His water is never finished however. He goes out every 2-3 hrs starting at 5:30am when I go to work. Lately,he has been peeing in his kennel for no apparent reason. He doesn't even drink that much! His kennel is just big enough to stand up and turn around in with his divider in. I am so stumped as to why he is all of a sudden peeing inside. Is it maybe a physical problem? Like he's growing so fast? Or is he dehydrated so he's peeing small amounts constantly? or simply attitude?

I appreciate any insight!

Tara

 

[stephanieb]

He's very young I'm surprised he makes it 2 - 3 hours. I don't kennel so maybe somebody that does can chime in, but I wouldn't be overly worried at this age

 

[Beanar]

Bladder infection perhaps? I know dogs don't usually mess in their kennels and we had the same issue. She would poop or pee on her bed and cover it up. So our bad boxer had her bed taken away in the kennel and it stopped immediately. Strange and still unexplained but true lol. It was really weird. she didnt mess in the house unless it was on her bed in the kennel.

 

[Smart_Family]

At his age he really needs to go out every hour and shouldn't be made to hold it longer than 3 hours at absolute most. He's really young and it takes work to house train them and crate train them. Repetition is key.

 

[Beanar]

We were always home though...The puppies at that age were never left in kennel for very long unless it was at bedtime and I would get out of bed at 3-4am to let them out until they got a tiny bit bigger and could hold it.

 

[seeknoxrun]

We experienced that with our EM. He would be great for two weeks, the relapse and have several accidents a day for a week. Then he would improve again... the cycle continued into his fifth month even though we were very consistent with his training. He hasn't had a single accident since early January - what a blessing! His accidents were getting progessively larger and grosser.

It is a common rule of thumb that a puppy can only hold his bladder one hour for every month old he is, and even that can be stretching it depending on the amount of water and food that is in his system. Your pup is still very young and it sound like he's off to a decent start. The more time you spend with him, the more you'll become familiar with his potty tendencies so it'll be easier to prevent and plan around. Also, as he grows, you can expect more and more bladder control.

Hang in there and don't get too discouraged!

 

[zeusexcalibur]

Hi,

We the update is:

We started letting him out every 1.5 hrs, and he still pees. In fact, he has gotten to the point where when we walk into the room to get him he will straight pee right then. It is as if he doesn't know peeing is for outside! He knows pooping is, and he does well with that unless he has tummy troubles. We are getting so frustrated. His kennel is just big enough he can stand up, lay down comfortably, and turn around. It cannot possibly get any smaller! He was 9 weeks old this saturday, 20 lbs. I know he has a ways to go but I don't understand the reason for him peeing and then just laying in it. When you pick him up he is all sticky and it drives me nuts to be giving him a bath every day. I am so frustrated with it, if anyone has more input, we would GREATLY appreciate it!

Thank-you!

 

[stephanieb]

Dumb question. Could it be nervous peeing because he is picking up on your frustration? Just a thought

 

[zeusexcalibur]

I doubt that, as every time we walk in he has already done it. For 4 days straight we let him out every 1-1.5 hrs and every time we went into the side bedroom where is kennel is he had peed. He gets daily walks, hours out with us while we watch tv in the evenings. I always kennel train before I let my dogs loose to ensure my house doesn't fall victim to their accidents. I am just unsure of what to do as it keeps happening, and I don't know how to redirect him to think his kennel is NOT ok to pee in.

 

[natsan6]

Is there anything soft in his kennel? I can tell you Jagger had a few accidents in his kennel when he was that age. He would have an accident everyday in the house at that age also. We got some urine neutralizer and used it on every single accident right away. Your best bet is not to let them out of your sight at all outside of the kennel, literally hover until you catch him having an accident. When you catch him "startle" him midstream grab him put him on the "grass" and as soon as he pees act like a complete fool haha praise praise praise and treat him, make it the best thing in the world to go potty outside. It does you no good to correct after he has gone already but it is absolutely necessary that you neutralize the "scent". To reinforce the kennel being his den I would remove anything soft and feed him in his kennel for a little while, it is rare for them to potty where they eat. Just for information sake Jagger went out 5-15 minutes after drinking and eating. Good Luck don't worry it's all just part of it, he won't do it forever

 

[angelbears]

Way to young to expect him to be perfect. He is laying in his pee because he has no where else to lay.

 

[Smart_Family]

Way to young to expect him to be perfect. He is laying in his pee because he has no where else to lay.

Absolutely agree.