Fixing The Problem Of The Doberman Who Liked To Urinate In A Crate

Fixing The Problem Of The Doberman Who Liked To Urinate In A Crate
A Doberman Pinscher owner sent me this question:

“Dear Adam: I loved your book, “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!” and your web site, Dogproblems.com.

They have been very helpful.

My biggest training problem right now has to do with potty training. My dog is a 5 month-old Doberman female. About 2 months ago she had a bladder infection, so she started not making it through the night. She would pee in her crate and then whine that she had to go out. We have since taken her to the vet and given her the entire dose of antibiotics and the infection is all cleared up. She makes it through the night fine now, but if we have to lock her in her crate during the day she pees in her crate.

She doesn’t seem to have too much separation anxiety, although I remember reading somewhere that Dobermans are prone to this. We let her outside to do her business and then lock her up a few minutes before we leave and she is quiet during that time. When we get home she is asleep or quiet. We wait a few minutes after getting home during which she is quiet, maybe whines a little, before we let her out. The only problem is that there is a puddle of pee at the bottom of her crate. We leave a few toys for her to chew on while she is in there, but nothing else, no bedding just the plastic of the bottom of the crate. She doesn’t seem to mind laying in it and we usually have to give her a bath when we get home. I’m not sure if I should punish her for this cause I know the timing is WAY off, but it’s getting so frustrating I don’t know what else to do.

I should also mention that we don’t have to be gone for this to happen. If she is locked up because while we are home, she does the same thing. She is generally quiet while she is in there, but after an hour or so she will whine loudly and when we get to her, there is already a puddle.

Thank you for your help. I look forward to implementing your advice.

Sincerely,
Tim

Dear Tim:

When you remove her from the crate after she urinates, be sure to clean the area thoroughly with an enzyme cleaner. This will break down the urine at the molecular level so its scent will be completely gone, not just covered up.

You should also limit her time in the crate to lower the chances of this happening. Only leave her confined when absolutely necessary or when she cannot be supervised. Along with this, it would be helpful to limit her water intake to a strict schedule and when she does drink, take her outside and let her relieve herself after a period of time.

Depending on the dog’s condition (hot and panting versus calm and tired), water will go through their system in anywhere from 20-45 minutes. If you put her in the crate immediately after she urinates outside, she might be less inclined (and able) to use the crate as a bathroom.

Adam G. Katz is the author of the book, "Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer: An Insider's Guide To The Most Jealously Guarded Dog Training Secrets In History." Get a free copy of his report "Games To Play With Your Dog" when you sign up for his free weekly dog training tips e-zine at: <a href="http://www.dogproblems.com" target="_blank">http://www.dogproblems.com</a>

How A Dog Obedience School Changed My Life
A few years back I took my dog to an obedience school because it was acting crazy most of the time. After attending a couple of classes I realized that it was not my dog who was acting crazy, it was me.

When you join a dog obedience school you learn how to train your dog to behave appropriately. In the first stages of training puppies, it is very common that their owners take them to a dog obedience school.

The training is usually done in small groups, where in addition to train the dog itself, it also teaches the dog?s owner how to train, scold and praise the dog.

Actually, a professional dog trainer does not really train the dog; he is training the dog?s owner how to do the training. You can, though, send you dog away to a dog training school alone. But you as the owner must still learn skills to reinforce what the dog has learnt on the dog school. If you attend a class together with your dog, you and your dog have a much better chance of learning more about each other as a team under professional guidance.

Every person who has to handle the dog should take part in the training to ensure consistent methods and commands. Or else the dog can get very confused.

I felt like quitting a lot of times because it was harder to change my own behavior than changing my dog?s behavior. I had to learn how to praise my dog more than scolding it. I was amazed.

The strange thing is that, because I started to look at myself in a new perspective, it suddenly came very clear to me that; it was not just my relationship to my dog that needed to change. It was my attitude towards other people as well. A huge eye-opener, that was hard to swallow. And when I look back I can truly say that attending that dog obedience school really changed my life. I would not be the person I am today. And that counts both towards dogs as well as people.

If you are in doubt about whether you should attend a class with your dog or not ? don?t be.

Thank you for your time.

Much more information about <a href="http://www.dog-obedience-school-e.com">Dog Obedience Schools</a> on this website. Go check it out!

Dog Behavior Training - Dog Aggression Toward Its Owners
A dog that growls at and/or bites its owner does so for some reason, even if the behavior appears to be “unreasonable” to the owner. If your dog displays aggressive behavior towards you, for the safety and welfare of you, your family and your dog, it’s important to find out why as quickly as possible.

Call your vet right away and schedule an appointment for a complete medical examination. Talk with your vet about testing your dogs hormonal balance, neurophysiologic functions and allergies. The test results may reveal the underlying cause. This has been especially helpful in dogs that have mood swings.

When growling or biting has erupted as a consequence of scolding or punishment for behavior such as chewing, jumping, general unruliness, or overprotection of food, these problems must be dealt with swiftly and firmly to correct the aggression it is initiating.

As the dogs owner, you must understand that your dog growls or bites at you as a result of defensive feelings. Even the dog that growls when ordered off the couch is reacting defensively, as it feels its dominance status has been threatened.

If scolding and punishment provoke aggression, your dog is reacting to a perceived threat to its physical safety. In either of these situations, your own threatening behavior may be producing negative results.

If the results of a medical examination show no signs of a medical condition that would be causing this behavior, you will have to examine your own behavior closely to determine what you are doing to make your dog feel threatened.

If you can’t hire the services of a professional, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Secrets Of A Professional Dog Trainer by Adam Katz for indepth instructions on dog behavior training.
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Heather Colman loves to spend quality time with her dog Gibson. She has worked closely with various professional dog trainers in the past 2 years to work through many of the behavior problems generated by Gibson's previous owner. Visit Heather's blog for more tips on dog behavior training. http://dog-behavior-training.blogspot.com/ This article is Copyright 2006, Heather Colman. Permission is granted to reprint this article as long as no changes are made, all links stay live and this entire resource box is included.

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