Is this a mental or physical problem?

[rbowls]

Hi, thanks first of to the responses from my last thread. Well we have made it through the excited testing young puppy period and are now advancing into what I would call mid puppy period. Still of course within the first year. Our dog, Cain, is going to be 5 months next week. Two weeks ago we had to take him to the kennel for 4 nights. Since we brought him home he started peeing in his crate, which he never had a problem with before. So after 3 days I took him to the vet to be checked for a UTI. They sent us home with antibiotics and stated that he had very little WBC but decided to give this to him, since he had a slight cough also. Well we have 2 days left of the meds and he has definitely improved. Problem is this, the frequency has definitely slowed but now it seems he is doing it on purpose, the peeing that is. He makes it thru the night, is fine when no one is home but when we are home he will have an accident, and its as if he isn;t letting it all out, because he will finish when put outside. When I am home, which is pretty much of the day he is out every hour. Better yet, when he does pee, he is very likely to pee again, right after we put him back into his crate! My husband and I are perplexed, any ideas? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks.

[Judi W]

When he was kenneled was it in a crated situation or where he was in an indoor/outdoor kennel. If he was crated and they did not let him out adequately, he had to learn to go in his crate.

Instead of crating him when he comes back in try teathering him to you or at least confining him to the room you are in, watch him like a hawk, when you see that he is thinking about peeing, tell him "no" in a very good voice and take him outdoors and praise him for going there. In otherwords, don't put him right back in his crate since he is seeming to think that is a place to go.

Just a thought and nothing more to base it on but searching for an idea for you.

[rbowls]

Thanks for the reply. He was in a inside kennel, too hot for in/out, too big for crate. I tried your suggestion yesterday, seemed ok until the early evening. The kids came home from school and my attention was not primarily on Cain, so he peed in the crate. Only time yesterday though. I have made the crate smaller, doesnt seem to matter. Hangin in there.