older dog crate training - Page 1

 I have a 2 1/2 yr female that I have been trying to get crate trained.  Every time we have almost got it, she has an accident.  Then she will go several times in her crate after accident.  Any ideas?

 I assume you have had her checked by a vet -- house soiling in an adult who is (mostly) trained can be a sign that there's something wrong.  Also if your female is spayed discuss the possibility of "spay incontinence" with your vet, because it's readily treatable but the dog isn't going to get better on her own.

Otherwise what is your schedule like?  Are you giving her enough opportunities to eliminate outside?  When you're training and have a problem it's often best to revert to treating the dog as though they're not trained at all -- i.e. you take them out every hour to eliminate, take up water for an hour before they go into the crate overnight, feed on a fixed schedule twice daily, and make certain to exercise the dog thoroughly before putting them in the crate for longer periods.  Make certain to give her a chance to eliminate right before she's crated, then make certain not to leave her too long at any given point (say, one hour less than when she's had an accident previously if you know when that was, and yes that means getting up in the middle of the night to let the dog out).  By being very meticulous about management so she doesn't have accidents you can solidify the crate training and then (once there hasn't been a problem for at least a month) you can start extending the time she's in her crate and expected to hold it.

Your saying "Every time we have almost got it, she has an accident" makes me think you might be taking things too quickly for her.  If you go right back to basics and build very slowly you should be able to teach her to do it right.  Also ask yourself how long you're expecting her to hold it, total.  It seems like sometimes people expect more from the dog than they would of themselves.  I'm not saying this is the case for you, but I don't expect the dog to go more than eight hours at any one time, and he gets breaks right before and right after, and regularly every few hours outside that.

 She isnt spay.  Do you know of any other health issue that could cause this.  I think we need to just start all over like you said. 

gsdlover68.i have a bitch who i used to crate at night when she was indoors and in season/on heat.she was caged in a crate which measured 48 inches depth by 30 inches width.she used to soil her bedding every night.we went to a show where we had an overnight stop and guess what.in the smaller car cage she was clean all night even though she wouldnt relieve herself brfore bed.when i got home ,for an experiment i crated her in a smaller crate.36inches depth by 24 bor 26  inches wide and she never soiled her bedding again.havent tried since as i have no males now but it could also be down to stress as this bitch and her dam had quite a long stay in boarding kennels and i was told that 1 was defacting in the kennel.i could guess who that was.now that they are back with me,neither have soiled once in the house,so i can only guess that the problem arose with this bitch because she was stressed out.just a thought.you will crack it eventually give her time.Carole.

Do you know of any other health issue that could cause this.

Something as simple as a persistent urinary tract infection could cause it.  Some bitches also have trouble with bladder control after they've been in heat, or immediately after pregnancy.  If it was my dog I'd get a thorough going over from the vet to rule out potential health problems, and then restart training if there was no organic cause.