I have a husky puppy who is now 4 months old. He did really well with house training in the beginning but now has back tracked. I take him out after he eats and drinks, before bed time, twice or three times in the middle of the night and when I'm with him he has NO accidents. But on the one or two days a week when I'm not home for 2-3 hrs I'll put him in his crate (it's size appropriate for training). Issues with this are 1) he never stops barking. We tried crating him at night when we slept while still maintaining a potty schedule and he would yelp, whine and howl like he was dying. Issue 2) he pees in his crate. I know dogs don't pee where they eat/sleep but he seems to have no problem with it. He'll soak straight through the blanket/towel combo I've put in there. We tried to take everything off the floor in the bedroom and keep him in there for 2-3 hrs during the day. He pees ONLY on the bed. And he never poops in the room. We praise him outside and don't yell at him. Help please?
Cheryl2013-10-22T09:54:56Z
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i personally think you gave up on the crate too easily ... lots of pups will make a commotion the first few times and the trick is to ignore the puppy ... the puppy being in the crate is not hurting him, and him making a commotion is like a toddler having a tantrum, and your family letting him out is coddling to the yelling toddler, so all you have taught the pup is whine and howl and he will get what he wants ... if it were my pup i would get the crate back out and use it appropriately ... a four month old dog can be crated and can hold their bladder for at least four hours ... and try to stop the middle of the night taking him out ... you want a dog that sleep through the night, not a dog active at night ... a good walk before bed is ideal ... every dog i have owned has been able to sleep through the night with no accidents from eight weeks on ... and make sure you don't force the dog into the crate ... toss treats in ... let him walk in ... toss him a treat if he lays down ... be patient and calm during the times you spend getting him comfortable ... a t-shirt you have worn put in the crate can be comforting too ... and when you go to bed, put a big blanket over the crate to muffle any sounds and minimize any stimulation ... and stop putting him in the room where he continues to have accidents ... every time you let him go in the house because you are not watching the pup or confining the pup is a step back in his training ...
I would keep up with the crate training...also, depending on how late you give him water it could cause issues too...I'd cut the water off at a certain time to get him used to not having to go in the middle of the night. Then first thing in the morning before anything else, take him out and let him go to the bathroom outside.
You need to be firm in the crate training. He's howling because every time he does this you let him out. You are rewarding him for crying! Ignore his whining and let him sit in the crate for a few hours. He will get used to it because he's still a pup.