Two new pups, one regularly wets the bed.

RoyalMarine

Hey everyone,

Have a question for ye pet experts.

Myself and my partner recently made the decision to give two female puppies a good home. Mum is a retriever and Dad is a brown collie.

We decided to take two, so they were never alone. (mainly during the night, and on rare occasion when our work shift patterns crossed).

We have a very large cage, where they sleep. This is inside.
We have a decent sized back garden area, where they spend most of the day. They love it outside.

Both of them have no problem pooping outside, and it's been almost a week since either of them pooped inside. (very regular trips outside have greatly helped here).
One of them, will only urinate outside. (She is also very very timid) The other however, urinates outside most of the time, but will quite often urinate in their bed. (She is a lot more excitable and active).

Both pups are very active and friendly when outside together. Neither of them bark. ever.

For example, today, I decided to clean their cage. I cleaned the soft mat, and it's currently on the washing line. There is a large hard pull out mat, and I scrubbed this too. I stood it up outside. About 20 minutes later, she knocked it over, and urinated on it. In two different spots.

Few hours later, everything is dry and clean. They were outside for the best part of 3 hours, playing, running etc. I put their outside bed into the cage while I cleaned up outside, along with the two pups. Two minutes later, she urinated on the blankets in the bed...

I'm not sure what to do at the moment.

Any advise would be amazing!

Thanks in advance!

muddypaws

What are you using to wash the bedding and clean the bottom of the crate? Anything that is ammonia based can actually encourage a dog to pee there again due to the smell, it may smell clean to us humans, but to a dog, with a much stronger sense of smell, it can appear as an invitation that that's where they are meant to go. Biological washing powder is great, its what I wash my kitchen floor with.

RoyalMarine

When we bought their cage and bedding, the assistant in maxizoo advised of this stuff to use to wash their bedding with. It seems great, and the dogs don't seem to mind it at all.

She has been urinating in the old bed too, before we got the new bedding.

Would it be a comfort/scent thing? Could you leave stuff in the bed like a favourite toy or bit of blanket that doesn't get washed

RoyalMarine

Their toys & blankets have been in the bed with them since we got them.

tk123

RoyalMarine wrote: »

When we bought their cage and bedding, the assistant in maxizoo advised of this stuff to use to wash their bedding with. It seems great, and the dogs don't seem to mind it at all.

She has been urinating in the old bed too, before we got the new bedding.

I'd recommend biological washing powder to break down the enzymes so the pup won't be able to smell the wee and go back to pee on it. How are you toilet training them? Are you bringing them out at night?

DBB

What age are your pups?
She has almost certainly built in "blankets" and "crate tray" into her repertoire of surfaces it's good to pee on. Pups learn preferences for peeing surfaces quite early on, the smell of it, the feel of it all serve to remind her to pee. And now, she actively seeks them out when she needs to pee! So, your pup has been quite well trained to pee in a certain place... It's just the wrong place!
So I think you need to go right back to basics. I think I'd be inclined to ditch the crate altogether, and choose an entirely different surface for her to sleep on: if she's on a duvet, use a sheet of vetbed, or carpet... Something that can't be rucked up too easily. In other words, you need to get rid of the cues, and stimuli, which are likely to be guiding her to pee in her crate.
If she does pee on this new-style bedding, I know this sounds gross but I would give it a rinse in water alone, and dry it. I think you should try to leave a "ready marked" smell off it.
And go back to very basics with the active housetraining. Accompany her out for each garden visit to ensure she is empty before she comes back inside. As she's peeing, coo gently at her. As soon as she stops peeing, throw a party! Very high-value food treats (eg chicken, ham, cheese), huge praise, pets, play. And bring her back inside as she's now safe to have back inside for a while.
I'd accompany her back to her bed too, so you can immediately intervene if she makes any move to pee on it: by intervene, I mean a calm "no", then bring her outside. And when she pees outside, party time!
In other words, you need to break your butt to break the habit, just for a couple of weeks. Aim for preventing any opportunity to pee on the blanket or on the tray 100%.
It's going to take a bit of work, but it needs to be tackled now!