My dog suddenly started peeing in his crate.. HELP

[Puplover94]

I have had my dog Parker since he was a puppy. He is almost a year old and has been house broken since he was a few months old. He recently began peeing in his crate at night a few weeks ago. He has had the same crate for months and never had a problem. He has been checked by a vet and does not have an infection. I began taking his food and water away a few hours before putting him to bed.  He ALWAYS gets crated at night and goes out right before bed but this is still happening.  There has been no changes in his environment or schedule.  The incidents happen around the same times every night (2 or 3am) No accidents any other time just at night. We keep him on a pretty strict schedule and he goes to work with me so he is only in his crate at night unless i am off and have to run an errand but even then no accidents. At my wits end from getting up every night to clean his crate and can't go back to sleep! HELP!!

[Min D]

Sounds like you may want to rule out a potential health issue with your vet- just to get that ruled out up front. It would be rare that a 'clean' dog starts peeing in their bed all of a sudden.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Min D

[hheldorfer]

I agree with Min D - highly unusual for a housebroken dog to suddenly start doing this.  Is he neutered, by the way?  When he pees in his crate does he act upset/nervous, as if he heard something that scared him?  

The fact that it happens around the same time every night leads me to wonder whether there is some sort of sound that he's hearing at that time.  We had another member who was beside herself because her dog began whimpering  in his crate every night.  Turned out it was the high-pitched sound from hearing aid.  The dog only reacted to it at night when everything else was quiet.  Our dogs have had this same reaction when one of our smoke alarm batteries is getting low and begins beeping.

Just throwing that out there in case it helps.

 

 

[sanford]

Have you considered getting a second opinion from another vet? We humans often do this for ourselves when our docs don't come up with a satisfactory diagnosis, so I think we should do it for our pets as well.

[Puplover94]

I don't have the money to keep running him to the vet. 

[Puplover94]

Now he has started doing it at random times throughout the night.  And i tried blocking off his crate,  it worked for two nights and then he just soaked his bed and the crate tonight. Im to the point of rehoming him.

[Hillscreek]

In PA we can use Care Credit for a loan to help pay vet bills.

Perhaps there is a behavioral part in this. He will know if you are mad or upset. That could make things a bit more difficult.What does he do when you are at work? At home? How much freedom does he have to run and play? How much time do you have to go on friendly walks together and let him sniff around and be a dog?

He's young and being a cairn he wants to be in charge. Time and patience are needed when a cairn is in one's life as many of us can say!

Edited September 14, 2017 by Hillscreek

[sanford]

"I'm to the point of rehoming him..."

Sadly, it maybe be best to consider rehoming  your pup. Without medical intervention, there is no way to know that he may be suffering, either physically or emotionally and you would never want that! Vet costs today are huge and no longer affordable to many who would otherwise have pets in their lives. The harsh reality is that not intervening now is probably postponing the inevitable. Sooner or later, all dogs will need to see a vet and you will be faced with bills again. 

You are both suffering, and putting the pup's interest first by rehoming will lift this burden from your shoulders and give him a chance for a healthy life that you may not be able to provide. 

Online, you will find cairn terrier rescue sites with volunteers committed take your pup and look after him. I can't say for sure, but from what I read on several sites,  I am practically certain that they take sick ones, nurse them and provide vet care... Especially for one as young as yours, whose age makes him very adoptable!

In putting your pup's interest first, I hope I didn't offend you. I regret that my own $$$ circumstances prevent me from offering  financial aid. My heart goes out to you, Puplover94, and I hope you find a better solution!

P.S. Just had an additional thought... Have you considered using a belly band/sanitary wrap at night? It's not a cure, but at least it will alleviate the stress - and the cleanup chores.

Edited September 14, 2017 by sanford

[bradl]

Some additional thoughts for taking or leaving...

We've had dogs where changing the crate pad to something less comfy/absorbent has broken a streak.  I would not suggest or advocate making a dog sleep on a hard surface routinely, but I have certainly put a dog to bed on a bare crate pan for a couple of nights to see if they can make it through the night when the result of the peeing is harder to get away from. If the dog happens to be one who is not bothered by a soiled crate, this is a bad idea. If the dog tries to move his or her pad out of the way when it's soiled, they are better candidates for this temporary approach.

I have also made it a habit for a week or so to get up in the middle of the night and take the dog out a second time; it's not great but was preferable to cleaning up messes. Eventually they start using the time for midnight playtime instead of taking care of business; that's about when I transition back to "last call" for pee and no more midnight playtime either. 

We've also had a dog who was not what most people would call "100% reliable" until she was around 8. Yes, 8. Even today at 13 when I take her places in the car I keep a few old towels in a stack and expect to swap them out at each end of our destination. When we RV we put a towel in her crate and simply expect it will be damp in the morning. We swap it out for a fresh one. Laundry is miles easier than changing this dog.  Around the house though, she is very good and if she ever does go it's because we ignored a clear request to go out. 

Long way of saying,  different things work for different dogs and different people and their situations. 

[Sam I Am]

And just my two cents worth. After play, after a meal and actually after anything that causes a bit of excitement, take the dog out for a pee. Lots of praise, lots of cookies. Have you thought about an x-pen perhaps? Perhaps he gets anxious in an overly confined area? Do you let him out just prior to you going to bed ? I wonder if the crate was in your bedroom if he would be more relaxed?

[Pepper Bug's Mom]

Hmmm - Brodie and all my dogs sleep in their crates at the foot of our bed, they always go outside before bedtime (11 PM).  Brodie is such a food oriented puppy!  Potty training him is much harder than the Lab (no Lab worth his salt would EVER pee or poop in the house), but Cairns are a different story.  So far Brodie and the gang make it through the night and go outside immediately when I get up at 6:45 AM. 

Can you take a urine sample in for a quick re-check?  Cheaper than a vet visit...

[Puplover94]

Thank you everyone for the advice.  I want to throw out there that i have taken him to the vet twice since this issue began and he came back with a clean bill of health across the board.  He goes to work with me and i am always on the run so he gets alot of excitement and chances to explore... he also goes on walks regularly. I tried letting him sleep on just the crate floor and it didn't make a difference. 

[Sam I Am]

Another thing to ask your vet. Possible bladders stones? And if he is neutered was something nicked by accident causing some form of incontinence . Hormonal issues? Has he had blood work done.

[Puplover94]

He is not fixed. He has had blood work and a urinalysis. 

[Sam I Am]

Check some of this out.http://www.dogchatforum.com/adult-dog-suddenly-peeing-in-house.htm

[bradl]

For what it's worth, almost a year is still pretty much a puppy brain. Sometimes a relapse is just a relapse, or a new habit forming. 

Medically, our basket case was found to have a kidney anomaly and the symptom we noticed was a sporadic inability to concentrate urine (it is often very clear and had wildly variable specific gravity). 

For an unneutered male who marks (as differentiated from full-on peeing) a belly band is a life-saver: for the owner, for the house, and in some cases for the dog, literally.