Potty HELP!

[Katie & Mr. Bodhi]

HELP! Our little GD puppy has done so well with potty training. We are using the kennel method and have made it small enough so that he will not go in his kennel but today he has gone twice in his kennel. He has done a lot of New barking as well, especially when we leave the room. Is he rebelling or upset with us. Could we be doing something wrong?

[Ginny Nightingale]

How old is the puppy? He is not upset with you--just going thru one of many phases--testing his boundaries. Stay consistent and this shall pass. He has to learn that you are not going to change the rules to please him.

[Adina P]

Not rebelling. How old is he?  Did he go #1 or #2 and is there any fabric in his kennel?

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Souds like he is just testing you, be consistant, is the barking right after you put him in the crate or is he barking becaue he may have to go potty?  If it is none of the above then he may be testing you.  Years ago when I was trying to crate train one of my Shih Tzus when she was a puppy, every time I put her in the crate she would bark llike crazy, I felt bad for her and let her out, etc at that point was when the traing tables turned..she started to train me -LOL don't let that happen.    He looks to be very young by the picture so he will have set backs at all stages of his training, I know my doodles did.  You would think that you have them completely trained and bam...an accident, it all goes with the terriroty of puppy training.  Before I crated my doodles for any periord of time I would pick up the water about an hour or so before and take them outside to relieve themselves.  The second they woke or I returned home I would immediately take them out. 

[Katie & Mr. Bodhi]

Hi all! Thanks for trying to help out. Bodhi will be 11weeks tomorrow. We do have a small flat bed in the crate which is somewhat new from what we started with. When he peed on that, we put back the blanket that we had in there originally and came back to find that also soiled. We take him out to potty right before we put him in the cage and right after we take him out. The past few days he has been getting very upset when we are not in the same room as him and barks a lot. It is not immediately when we put him in the cage, only after he can't see us anymore. The first time he peed I had left him in the cage while still in the house and the second time we actually left the house. I am wondering if he is getting scared or has grown too attached and misses us and thinks we are never coming back. It reminds me of when a baby plays peekaboo and thinks you are not there when they can't see you. This is all so new to me so I'm sorry if I sound like a worried mother but I'm just trying my best to train him in the right way.

[Katie & Mr. Bodhi]

I work every other day so when I am working, he is in the crate for 4 hours at a time and then we get lots of playtime in between. When I am home we are hanging out most of the day playing but i put him in the cage every now and then to stay consistant.

[Katie & Mr. Bodhi]

Thank u Andrea! I figured it might be a phase. I try to make the crate a nice place for him to go with toys and treats but he doesn't voluntarily go to his cage for a nap yet. I like the kong idea too! I will look into that. What kind of treats do you put in it? Oh and BTW, Bodhi follows us everywhere we go, all the time! he loves mommy and daddy!

[Ginny Nightingale]

He may not go in the crate voluntarily for a nap, but as soon as he falls asleep, put him in there! He will wake up, but usually they fall back asleep quickly. A lot of people have suggested that you put the puppy in the crate for 5 -10 seconds, then take them out before they can make any noise and reward them. Gradually increase the time each time you do this until they are doing better with being in the crate and staying quiet. Never tried it, but others have had success.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Is it possible that the scent is still in the crate from the potty "accident"? They will then smell the area and think it is where they are supposed to potty. It needs to be sanitized totally, bleached, rinsed and maybe dried in the sun if possible.
When one of my pups would bark or whine when I left the room, I would come back, tell him "hush" and tap on the crate. So he learned barking was not ok. I also would leave a room, and come back I quickly, say hi, then leave for a few min longer, come back say hi. Always before he whined. It worked for my guy in the crate. But he always had horrible separation anxiety until we got a second dog. And mine were only crated for a few weeks, so I may not have the best info on crate training.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

We started out having a small blanket in the cage then she would pee on it and scrunch it up in the corner. Our trainer said use the divider small enought to turn around with no beds or blankets. It was hard to do because you want them to feel comfy but it worked, Good luck, it will get better,

[Jo and Beamer]

When I have little pups I would put a blanket over the crate to make it more den like. Even sometimes hang it in the front. It worked. 

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

you could try feeding him in his crate also so that he associates the crate with something positive.