HELP  any advice would be brill i have a five month pup but having big problems with her. When we put her in the her crate she will pee in it ,when we take her in the car she will be in her crate for about 10 mins then she poops   ,we let her out for about half an hour before we go to the car ,even if she has the other dog with her she still does it .I just dont know what to do with her ,hubby says if she does not stop then she wont get in the car

Dawn
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Hi Dawn,

There are so many things that could be causing this behaviour... so you might need to try a few methods to get a result. My first thought was whether the crate might be too big for her? If she has a nice small crate that she can stand up and lie down confortably in, she should realise that going to the toilet will mean she has to sit in it!

I would also re-introduce her to the car in really short bursts as she may just be frightened and this is her way of showing it.

I am sure many others will have advice as well... best of luck!

Kate.

In addition to the above, have you tried FEEDING her in her crate?   dogs rarely mess where they eat ;)

Also, has she been trained to see the crate as a safe place to sleep?  If not then she could be reacting to the stress of being confined  ;)

Hi Stormy & dill ,her crate for the house is a small one but she has room to lie down and move around ,also she is fed in her crate ,she is quite happy to go into her crate as during the day the door is left open so she often takes her toys in .if she does mess her crate she just lies down regardless .The crate for the car is a big double one so we useally put the other dog in with her insted of the other side .
Apart from this problem she is such a sweetie

Dawn
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Dawn,

Do you have a command that makes her go to the toilet... and do you use it before you go out? Ie... are you monitoring her actually going or do you just let her loose outside?

Could the pooing in the car be a form of travel sickness? I took on a rescue dog that couldn't go any distance in the car without being sick and pooing. As she got used to the car it stopped also I gave her ginger capsules

when she is outside i say go pee and will watch her to make sure she does something

if she is ever naughty is she put in the garden?

Are you actually out there with her ready to reward her the second she does go to the toilet..

If not, theres no motivation to do this really and so she wont learn to relieve herself on command, and probably unlikely to learn to wait for you to be there to let her out either.

I do wonder though if going in the crate when the door is shut is also an anxious or fearful reaction to being trapped.

I would make sure shes rewarded for every single outdoor wee/poo... and treat her as if she IS frightened by being shut in the crate, even if you cant see a reason for this, it wont do any harm.

She may like her crate but not if the door is closed so teach her that door closed = good things and build that up slowly and use really good treats. Travelling in cars can be very unsettling, espcially if dogs travel in the back rather than towards the middle of the car (cant see where they are going and every movement the car makes in front is felt much more clearly in the back, well known to make people carsick!). Build her up slowly to time in the crate in the car and if possible during the training phase whilst you get her over messing in the crate, avoid shutting her in it at all.

when she is outside i will say go pee  as soon as she pee's /poops i make a big fuss of her ,telling her good girl and telling her she's clever then she gets a treat .I will try going back to basic's with the crate ,and only very short trips in the car ,i thought about letting her sit at my feet in the car but hubby says no as she will want this all the time .

thanks guys
i will let you know how we are getting on
Dawn
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if she is ever naughty is she put in the garden?

when she was little if she had a mistake in the house i would tell her off and put her in the garden but always went out with her if she did anything outside she was always praised for it and given a treat

Dawn
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I think you possible made a mistake telling off a puppy for having accidents in the house , it is best to ignore and clean up praise the good ignore the bad. A pup wouldnt know what it had done wrong.

found this info hopefully may be of help to you http://www.lynnehammond.com/2008/09/10/stopping-your-dog-from-eliminating-in-the-car/

if there is the possibility that she doesnt like the door being shut on her crate get a copy of Susan Garrett's Crate Games dvd, its brilliant with some easy exercises so that dogs learn to adore crates.

think you could be right. That link you sent was great ,so will keep trying with her ,when she's in her crate she does not mind if the door is open or closed she does not get upset when the door is closed she just lys down or plays with the toys that are in her crate

dawn
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when she was little if she had a mistake in the house i would tell her off and put her in the garden but always went out with her if she did anything outside she was always praised for it and given a treat

Dawn
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thats what i wondered.

generally speaking, if you associate the garden with some form of punishment, dogs dont want to go to spend any time out there, including toilet time..
it's quite possible that is what has happened in your case?
in which case, you need to recreate the garden as a positive association.
which means spending lots of time out there giving her treats, playing with her, feeding her meals out there, etc, etc.

UPDATE  IT'S ALL SMILES 
my wee girl is soo much better in her crate only had a little accident on tuesday ,we have been taking it very slow with her just 5 mins in the car so far so good
thanks all very much for all the help and advice

love Dawn
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