poop and pee in kennel

[NIKKI ~Macy's Mom~]

I am at a loss. Macy is 4 months old and I'm still having issues with her pooping and peeing in her crate while I'm at work everyday. I feed her at 5:45am and let her out. Her kennel is smaller so she only has enough room to turn around. I am gone from 6:30am- 3:30pm M-F. There is no one to let her out during that time. Then I feed her at 6:30 pm. I don't know what to do?? I am thinking of only giving her a little water in the AM and only feed her once a day when I get home from work at 3:30pm. Then she will have time to work it out all evening. Maybe a couple treats in the morning after peeing to give her a little food. Any suggestions??? When I clean the kennel I use Shaklee Basic G and white vineger/water mixture to eliminate the smell.

[Amber Rose]

Are you cleaning out the kennel with something that eliminates all of the smell after every accident? If a dog is using the bathroom in the crate on a regular basis it is harder to stop especially if his "scent" is there.

[NIKKI ~Macy's Mom~]

I use Shaklee Basic G, which is a sanitizer and white vinegar/water mixture.

[NIKKI ~Macy's Mom~]

I think 9 hours is too long also, but I have friends whose puppies did hold it that long.

[Yvonne, Riley, Murphy and Luca]

Maybe get up a little earlier and feed her and make sure goes before you put her in the crate. 9 hours is a little long though.

[NIKKI ~Macy's Mom~]

The problem is it's hard to make sure she poos before I leave. Sometimes she will hold it a few hours before going.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Physiologically it just isn't possible to hold it that long--Not yet. This is similar to humans who truly can't be potty trained until 2.5 to 3 years of age regardless of what we do or how much we train them. They don't have control of these muscles. Her bladder at this time is the size of a marble.
I too have had to get up 1 hour earlier ( yawn ) to get all the morning stuff "taken care of". This too shall pass.
As for animal scent, I use ammonia ( I found this hint from Hellouis Hints ) My cats are furious about the dog and have taken it out on my husbands clothes. An ammonia mixture removes the smell of cat urine. If it can do this for cat urine it should certainly work for dogs. For laundry, I use 1 cup per load of laundry. I suppose you can use a 10:1 mixture in a spray bottle. I like the idea of a room with puppy pads. That's what people in high-rise apartments must do because they have no yard to train the puppy. Good Luck Nikki. She is so beautiful.
Oh one more thing. Take a stool sample to the vet. Initially, on Spuds 1st exam, his stool sample was negative. The entire 1st month, Spud had accidents in the crate, and we had to get up in the middle of the night to let him out 2-3 times and he still pooped in the crate. We called the vet and he changed the food! On our second visit, his stool sample was positive. it cost us $ 6.00 for the Banana flavored medicine and now NO MORE ACCIDENTS

[Missi]

Ammonia is an ingredient in dog urine, and is what signals dogs to pee their. I've heard of many people using amonia-based cleaners and the dog peeing problem gets worse! For dogs, a good enzyme cleaner is best, like nature's miracle. Hadn't heard about it working on cat urine, that might come in handy someday! Don't your clothes smell funny then?

[NIKKI ~Macy's Mom~]

Thanks for the info about the ammonia. I might try that. The thing is, if I put her in her crate overnight or a few hours, she won't pee in it. At night, she will cry and let me know she needs to go out. Thank God were at least to that point. At first she would pee and poo in there at night. Not fun.

[NIKKI ~Macy's Mom~]

Her stool samples have come back fine. What are they checking for anyway? I'm glad to hear Spud isn't having anymore accidents.

[NIKKI ~Macy's Mom~]

Macy's stool samples have come back fine. What are they checking for anyway? I'm glad to hear Spud isn't having anymore accidents.

[NIKKI ~Macy's Mom~]

I hope your puppy is giong to be OK. I'm sorry to hear he is having health issues.

[Missi]

Hey Nikki,
I work 12 hours shifts and definitely have the same problem. I have a huge unfinished basement, so I had an ex-pen bolted to the floor for Lizzie to stay in while I'm at work. I cover it in newspaper and she has a "living" side and a "peeing" side. She'll hold her poo though for the whole time, because she HAS to poo outside, which is really funny. Sometimes she can't hold it and I find her covered in it. Also, I made sure to get the 42" high one, because most dogs can climb out of the short ones. I still use her regular crate for nighttime or when I'm only going to be gone for a few hours. Hope this helps!