New puppy defecating in her crate is this a problem?
 

Ok here is the story I have a 5 year old Golden Retreiver and when we got her at 6 weeks old she never defecated in her crate. She didn't pee in it much either. She was potty trained in about 2 weeks. Well we just added another puppy to our house. I bought an English Setter puppy to go grouse hunting with. My Golden is gun shy and I can't break her of it so I had to bite the bullet and get another dog. BTW we kept our Golden just added another dog. So I have had the English Setter, Slash, for a week now. She is 8 weeks old and she has defecated in her crate about 4 times. Once at night and the other 3 times during the day. Today was the latest one. My wife meet me out for dinner after my kids hockey game. She took the puppy out twice before meeting me but she wouldn't go. When we got home after about a hour of being gone Slash had defecated in her crate. My wife realized that she shouldn't have meet me out until the puppy went #2. Is this common or is this not a common thing? I don't want to end up with a dirty dog and am not sure what to think. I am thinking maybe I was spoiled with my Golden. Any insight into this problem would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks,
Chuck

RE: New puppy defecating in her crate is this a problem?
 

Puppies poop a lot. Is she kept in the crate where she cannot go out of it at anytime to go #2? Or does she voluntarily go into the crate to #2?

That makes a big difference.

If she is just being crated for a while and cannot tell you that she needs to poop, then you need to take her out every little while and let her walk and sniff around. When she poops outside, praise her. If she craps in the crate, poke her nose real close to the turd and say NO.

If she is in the habit of crappin in the crate just because, then keep the crate somewhere where she cant get in it. Only when you want to crate her, and let her poop outside before you put her up. If she poops in the house, because she cant get to the crate, then its just potty training procedures.

RE: New puppy defecating in her crate is this a problem?
 

EDOLT is on the money had the same problem but if I got up in the night I would take the pup out no matter what rain/snow. One thing was my pup was on the roam down stairs with me so I would close the cage dr. I had to learn the hard way when she wanted out she wouldn,t bark or wine so she would leave her mark at the dr and come back to me as nothing had happened. After getting a wet sock Istarted to watch if she went for the stairs to the out dr she would sniff at the dr and look and wait dr no open leave a calling card. So I tied a bootlace from the drknob to about 5"s off the floor with bells on it . She would sniff at the bells moving them around which told me to get my but in gear and let her out. It sounds dumb but it has worked I told afreind who take,s in foster pups or abused dogs works every time.

RE: New puppy defecating in her crate is this a problem?
 

Try this: Get a smaller crate. If she has too much room she'll just go to the other end of the crate to relieve herself. She is less likely to dirty her crate if she has to lay in it.

RE: New puppy defecating in her crate is this a problem?
 

eelriver is right, also let her out more frequently...right after she eatsis an essential time as well, also make sure you are outside with her for at least 15-20 minutes.

20 slugs nice idea with the bells, I am going to try that trick.

RE: New puppy defecating in her crate is this a problem?
 

I know what you mean about being spoiled bythe golden. I've been blessed by a husky that has never gone in the house (he's no hunting dog though.. he'll find the dead animal alright, but then he'll either roll in it or run away with it). I think the main reason he never shat in the house was cause he was born outside, and was kept outside until I brought him home. Maybe if you leave the puppy outside as much as possible he'll start to understand that the only place to go is in the grass (or snow)?

RE: New puppy defecating in her crate is this a problem?
 

The crate is already really small. I have a divider and made the crate just large enough for her to fit in. I know all about dogs not wanting to dirty themselves. That is why I am a little concerned.

RE: New puppy defecating in her crate is this a problem?
 

retrievers are easier to get on a routine than english setters (in my opinion) I have had both and the setters are just a little more anxious, it takes about 2 years to season a retriever and I have heard it takes 3-4 to settle a setter

RE: New puppy defecating in her crate is this a problem?
 

Lostmountainlabs is correct, you have to especially make sure the puppy gets out after eating. With my breed, we find that the pooping starts about 15 to 20 minutes after puppies eat; the older they get, the longer that time becomes. I really don't think you can expect too much yet from an 8 week old pup. I would also say, generally speaking, there is nothing wrong with a puppy that poops in its crate. I mean, when you have to, you have to, right? Its really a matter of getting the puppy out often enough and figuring out what their schedule is. Also, are you letting her out during the night? If not, you may want to think about getting up at least once in the middle of the night.

We always tell our puppy buyers that if your puppy has an accident, it's not the puppies fault. That's generalizing a bit, but it's to drive home the point that you need to watch the puppy closely and take it out often. When we take a puppy outside to do it's business, we use the words "Get busy". They don't get any attention til they do their thing; when they do, they get LOTS of praise.

BTW, there is a book titled "How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days" by Shirlie Kalstone that I think is excellent. I think the last time I bought a copy on Amazon, I go a used copy for something like $5.

Good luck with your new puppy!