Advice needed!

[Brent Lang]

Good afternoon community!

I have a Golden Doodle named Zoey, who has just turned 1.  She is well loved, especially by my kids.  She's very intelligent, and just an overall good dog.  Here is my "problem".

She spends a lot of time in the crate.  She doesn't seem to mind, but I don't like it.  She's in the crate all day long while my wife and I are at work.  When I get home, i let her out of the crate, and she remains out of the crate until bed time, at which point she goes back in.

I want her to really be part of the family, which to me, means no crate.  I would like to have her sleep upstairs with the rest of the family, but we have a cat (about 14 years old), who hates the dog, and it's like a warzone when they are together.  So, a couple of weeks ago, as an experiment, I gated the downstairs and let her out of the crate and went to bed.  When I woke up, there was piss in two different areas, and she had torn up and cardboard box, some matchsticks and some firestarters.

When she is in the crate, she never has an accident.  How do I complete the transition of her from crated pet, to full member of the family that has full access to the house?  Could it be she's just not mature enough yet?  Given the opportunity, she still likes to get into "mischief" and chew/eat things she shouldn't.

She's 99% house broken.  I say 99% because, if we are paying close attention to her, she doesn't have an accident.  She'll run to the door and scratch.  But, if we miss the signal, she doesn't bark or anything, she'll just pee right in front of the door. 

What do I do?  Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

How about a baby gate in your bedroom doorway, so you can hear the kids but still keep Zoey confined? Or an intercom/baby monitor? 

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

You've gotten great advice- I'm just going to add a couple of other thoughts....

Is it at all possible to change her daytime routine a bit so she is not left confined for such a long time? Maybe have a pet sitter come in or take her to a doggy daycare a few times a week? I have to wonder if some of her evening problems are related to loneliness and lack of exercise earlier in the day.

I like Karen's idea of using a baby gate on the bedroom doorway. We use one at night even though Winnie has had full run of the house since she was 6 months old. Both my husband and I are very sound sleepers and would never hear her if she got sick during night.

Regarding the bells,  if the bell is squashed and she sometimes misses it when pawing, get a new set. Better yet, get several bells and rig it up so that there is no "missing her signals." :-)  

Also, I have to respectfully disagree when you say that she IS housebroken. A one year old dog can hold their urine for many hours (12+) if they have to. Assuming that you take her out right when you get home from work, there shouldn't be any reason that she pees in the house in the evening. Or during the night, either. Even if you miss her signals. A housebroken dog just won't do that. You shouldn't have to watch her so closely at this age. t would maybe double check with the vet to see if there is a medical reason for it. But, it seems to me that it is likely behavioral. And, I bet if you start to implement some of the suggestions that other have made, too, you'll see some good results. Best wishes! Glad you are reaching out- this is a great community to ask for help from!

One question- I see in your profile that you got her from a pet store. How old was she when you got her and do you know anything about her parents?

[Brent Lang]

When we got her, she was 8 weeks.

I think I may have overblown the frequency of the accidents.  I do get your point that a housebroken dog will hold it.  The accidents I'm referring to are very infrequent, and seem to only occur when she's had a ton of water to drink (like if she was outside and she found a pool of water somewhere).

My real main question was regarding her destroying a few things that first night i let her sleep out of the crate.  But again, the way it went down wasn't right (on my end), i had let her out of the crate (didn't bring her out) and then just shut the gates and went to bed.

Tonight I think I'm going to give it another shot.  Going to try to have her upstairs with us and see how it goes.  She's been out of the crate all day so she's been outside playing when the rain stopped, and has gotten her energy out  (it's nasty weather today, so everyone's been home all day...no accidents :) ).  So tonight, before bed I will bring her out to pee, bring her upstairs with me, and if the cat and her don't fight, I'll let her stay up there with us.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Drinking from "a pool of water she found somewhere" outdoors is the best way in the world for a dog to get giardia. You really have to prevent that. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I will keep my fingers crossed for a calm night!  Eventually this will all work out.

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Sounds like you've got a good plan!