Receiving emails from distraught dog owners is not something I look forward to.
The emails usually involve a problem with a dog's unwanted behaviour and the owner is seeking advice on how to "fix" the issue.
I don't look forward to these emails because I always have to answer the same way: "I need to observe the family dynamics around the dog as well as the unwanted behaviour of the dog before I can give any advice, tips or training on how to fix it."
This answer sometimes gets people upset because they assume I will know what is wrong with the dog based on their description.
I wish it was as easy as me reading an email and going, "Yup got it!" But dogs are unique. They are capable of thinking freely and making behavioural choices on their own. They are not all alike, therefore a one-shoe-fits-all answer does not apply.
For example, just because one dog pees in its crate due to poor housetraining does not mean that all dogs that pee in their crates do so for the same reason. As a trainer who problem-solves, I need to observe a dog's behaviour and become familiar with its routine before solving the problem.
Oh, and one more thing. As I mentioned earlier, I also need to observe the family dynamics and relationship with the dog because nine times out of 10, the problem is not the dog, it's the owner!
Using the dog urinating in its crate as an example of how family dynamics play a roll, I might come to a home and, upon speaking with the husband, find that he has threatened to give the dog away unless a solution is found. When I hear this, I see a person who frustrates easily, is impatient and may be a perfectionist, placing unreasonably high expectations on the members of his family and the dog. This might result in the family always feeling a bit stressed when the dog is around for fear of those uttered threats becoming a reality. This stress would of course transfer to the dog.
In this situation, my advice would be that the husband be more reasonable and understanding in general, have realistic goals and realize that dogs make mistakes, just like humans. Those mistakes need to be forgiven and forgotten and this owner should stop holding the threat of giving the dog away like a noose around his family's neck.
Basically, when you become a better human being you become a better dog person, and visa versa. When this happens, a more peaceful training protocol can be established. With understanding and patience, the dog urinating in the crate will not longer be a problem.
Another consideration is how the crate is used as part of the dog's lifestyle and training routine. How long is the dog left in the crate at any one given time and when? If the dog is placed in the crate right after exercise, then the owner leaves for the day, there is no way for the dog to relieve a bladder that gets full over time as the tissues of the body drain excess fluid created from exercise.
Environment also plays a big part. What does the dog experience immediately before it goes into the crate? If it is a stressful event, the dog will view the crate as an unfriendly/unsafe place to be because it still has the stress hormone cortisol running through its body when it's in the crate and may urinate due to of stress. A dog should always enter its crate in a pleasant, or at least neutral, state.
How is the crate used? Does the owner choose the lazy route and segregate the dog by placing it in the crate instead of training the dog to be calm and relaxed on its bed in the vicinity of the family? If so, the dog may resent the crate because it separates it from its owner in an unnatural and unnecessary way and it may urinate out of frustration.
Ruling out poor house training and medical issues, a dog that urinates in its crate is expressing an opinion rather than being bad. Unwanted behavioural challenges are more often than not a human error, not a dog error, so stop blaming the dog!
Joan Klucha has been working with dogs for more than 15 years in obedience, tracking and behavioural rehabilitation. Contact her through her website k9kinship.com.
