I'm at the end of my leash!!
I'm a new beagle owner. My husband and I have never had a small breed dog before so we are wondering if this behavior is normal.
My pup is roughly 17 weeks old. He's very smart. He knows all of his commands without fail but I cannot get him to stop urinating in his crate at night
He goes out every morning at 6 am. Eats at 615 and is out again at 630. He is left most of the day alone and in his crate. When I come home again at 3pm he is covered in urine. He eats again at 5 pm and has water till about 7 pm.
He gets a small ammount of water while I'm away at work. Only a half quarter cup of water. I fear he'll become dehydrated if I don't, but I've been thinking he'll stop if I don't provide water. So last week I tried that. No water while I'm gone.... And still, when I get home from work, he's covered in urine.
There have been a few times that I'm gone for longer than 8 hours and I'll get home and find him licking up his mess.
I've tried confinement in another room, confinement in the same room and now a crate. The crate is only big enough for him to sleep in.
He never poops in his crate but does on the floor. Its not as frequent as the urine messes though.
My husband and I are beside ourselves. We have had Copper for about 7 weeks. We have read all the training tips and nothing seems to be working. I give treats and praise when he's good and tell him he's bad when he is. He hates being told he's a bad boy so I wonder if he's messing out of spite.
As a puppy he slept, ate and messed outside in a kennel with his mother and siblings. I wonder if this is the reason for his bad behaivour. I'm at the end of my leash with him. We have talked about making Copper and outside dog or adopting him out. Neither option makes me happy.
Someone please help!
CoppersMama,
The first thing would be to rule out any medical issues.
1. A 17 week old pup can't wait 8 plus hrs for a potty break. Starting at about 8 months of age Cooper will be able to hold his business longer , perhaps even 8 hours.
2. The reason for licking the urine up may be to hide the evidence out of fear. Has anyone fussed a Cooper about having an accident? Separation anxiety or just plain fear of being alone may also play into this. Does he cry when you leave?
3. What is Cooper's day like after you come home?
4. A dog never does anything out of spite. Dogs always want to please their owners. This is simply a case of he can not hold it that long, and , just like a human,
when the pain or need to relieve ones self is strong enough he will go in his crate given no other choice.
3. Is there any safe way to have Cooper outside during the day where he would have access to an area for potty use.
