My puppy pees on the floor at night

Pacco already liked his crate. I can't remember why I first got it, but when I did, something about transporting him, I left the door open in our (his and mine) house. It was his den in the bedroom in winter months and sometimes in summer. I got another one for the car, as he turned out to be a spitfire in the car, which I learned the hard way - two wrecked seatbelts, and those are hard to tear apart.

I took him to work every day, and he was in my car almost always. Once in a while he got dog day care visits at two places I learned to be ok with, but not often.

However, I had to leave him home once a month, our gallery openings, and I left him in the crate for 3+ hours. Prior to crating him for it, he tore up the old redwood door molding. So, the crate it was. He was always coming out of calm when I got to the porch and then the front door and was a happy dog again. This happened dozens of times and I think he was moderately sanguine about it, as without the gate closed, it was also his den.

I don't think so (powerful indictment of dog ownership)! Dog ownership comes with responsibilities and locking it away for 11 hours a day does not
teach the dog anything. I've never crated any of my dogs, they all became
housebroken sooner or later, it just requires time, effort and dedication...
did I mention time? If people don't have time to spend with a dog and show some attention and affection, they shouldn't have one!

What are these crates? I've never heard crates discussed re dogs except here.

I keep imagining old wooden cargo boxes!

I have been wondering the very same thing, Deb.

Are they the containers that people transport their pets from A to B to (like for a vet visit?) in their cars?

I don't know that it would be good thing for any animal to be confined in such a small space for up to 11 hours.
Even for "training" purposes.

Locking a dog in a crate, unattended, for 11 hours is not training. At least in my opinion.
Crate training, when used properly, can be very useful.

I agree with you, caribou.
I wouldn't agree with that sort of "training" for any animal.


You may be right or you may be wrong.
I honestly don't know.
I certainly don't know enough about "crate training" of dogs.
I don't have a dog myself because I don't have the time to maintain a dog's needs.
So I have had lots for cats, for years.
All I know is that no cat would find that an acceptable way to be treated.
You would probably not have the best relationship with your cat, after that.
I mean that.
And I am very familiar with cats. I have lived closely with them for most of my life & think I know them pretty well.
So how are dogs different to cats?
Do we expect different responses from dogs?
Are they more accepting than cats?

I have never heard about crate training. I don´t even know how you can train a dog which sits in a crate. To leave an animal in a crate for hours seems very cruel. Something like locking a kid in a closet with the light on for hours.

What is the lady with the peeing dog doing with her new baby? She seems to be gone 11 hours a day. The dog sleeps in her bed, where does the baby sleep?

Dogs are den animals. They tend to prefer a 'safe' place to sleep or nap. Aside from night time sleeping, 8 hours or so, no dog should be in a crate longer than six hours. They need to socialize, play and excercise. 11 hours is way too long, even over night.
Crate training is an excellent way to potty train a dog, but it should be done according to age. The younger the dog, the less time in the crate as they have to pee more regularily. Crates train pups to hold their pee, to wait. Young dogs, for the most part, won't pee where they sleep, but will pee on everything else, anywhere they please, when ever they feel the need unless they learn otherwise, thus crate training...
My pups were crate trained and now, I don't have to use it at all, and I can leave the house for several hours without worrying about finding pee/poop stained floors when I return. If it's done properly, a crate is not a bad thing or punishment, but 11 hours is cruel. Almost half a day in a crate is just plain wrong. Pups/dogs sleep a lot, but they don't sleep 19 hours a day.

Interesting information for a solely cat person, Ceili.
Dog training is pretty much a mystery to me.
Cats seem so much easier!

To train a dog you have to take out a puppy about every 3rd hour preferable as soon as it has played, eaten or slept. Don´t bring it in right away.
If the dog happens to poo on the floor, don´t get mad, but take the stuff outside, let the dog smell it. Then it learns that poo belongs outside and not inside.
It takes until they are 12-14 weeks until they know they have to pee and by locking them into a carvet they only learn how to hold back, not to react to the signs. If they only learn to hold back it might be very bad for them.
You do not put a child on a potty for hours to potty train them.

Well that is because she is alone all day. Many dogs get destructive when bored. Does she have enough toys? Puppies are teething also so it is very important they have something they like to chew.

Once my dog was a year old we could leave him alone most of the day - with lots of toys - he still would sometimes chew on things he wasn't supposed to - I couldn't blame him though. We tried to keep him in an area where there was plenty of room to run, but still wasn't where he could destroy too much. Part of being a pet owner - things like stuff being chewed on, fur all over, just part of the good with the bad.

Crate training is so typical American! It's almost nowhere else practiced (rightfully so) and to me it's an easy way out to restrain a puppy instead of
training it. I've had enough puppies and shelter dogs to know that I don't
need a crate to teach a dog some basic rules.

It worked well for us when our dog was a puppy, but it was for like mentioned above short periods and at night. Now that he is older we don't use it other than when he stays at some one else's house - he doesn't mind it - but then it isn't used for hours on end.

One of my friend's dog loves his so much, he is overprotective of it. If you touch it, he runs over barking and growling - besides that the dog is as sweet as can be - really odd - but I think it is where she likes to go when she wants to get away from everyone.

I have both cats and a dog. And yes, I agree you couldn't do that with a cat. But a dog is different and it tends to work with dogs. The breeder that we got our dog from actually starts the pups on crate training.

I've done both. It makes life easier to use a crate. They learn both ways - it saves the floor and rugs though while they are learning to crate a dog. And like said above - dogs are den animals and many love having their own crate - it is their area where no one bothers them.

Have to modify that post - I didn't mean that he was almost always in the car - I meant when I was driving somewhere he was virtually always with me. So, with me at home, with me at work, with me in the car, except for that once a month three hours when he stayed home in the crate, and a day at doggy day care once every few months, if that.

the girl dog at home is always finding her own little den - under desks, under weird overhangs, under the bed - she does not like to be bothered once she's in her holes

the boy dog used to particularly like having an open crate available if kids came to visit - he'd go in, facing in so no one could bug him - he's not a fan of toddlers - thank goodness my friends are too old to continue having toddlers

And then the bonus - if you do have small children - the crate doubles as a place to lock the monsters in when they mis-behave.