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How to Stop Puppy from Peeing in Kennel or Crate

We all know the puppy potty training basics.

If not, you can read my post on potty training a puppy here. Basically, it involves lots of supervision and prevention. Taking the puppy out often. Confining the puppy to a small area when you can’t supervise.

Most puppies do not want to soil the area where they sleep, so confining them to a kennel when you can’t supervise is a great prevention technique. But what happens if your puppy doesn’t seem to mind peeing in her kennel?

I’ll share my ideas, but of course I really want to hear your tips, especially if this is something you’ve dealt with. I don’t have an easy answer, so I’m hoping to start a discussion on this.

How to stop a dog from peeing in his crate

(I use crate/kennel interchangeably, and it could also mean a small, gated-off area like a bathroom.)

First, let’s rule out some potential issues.

Could it be that your puppy can’t hold it as long as you expect?

She may not want to pee in her kennel, but maybe your puppy can’t hold it as long as you thought. Depending on her age, you may need to take her out more often, like every two hours instead of every four. During the day, you may need to hire a dog walker or a neighbor to come let her out, at least for the next few weeks.

Is your puppy sick?

It’s understandable that she won’t be able to hold it if she has an upset tummy or a urinary tract infection.

Is she drinking too much water before going into her kennel?

I would cut her off a few hours before bed, and limit her water before you head to work.

Does her feeding schedule need to be changed?

Make sure you’re not “free feeding” your puppy by leaving food out all the time. While this is convenient for you and may seem kind to her, it’s too difficult to predict when she will need to go to the bathroom. Instead, feed her at the exact same times two or three times per day so you can plan her bathroom times accordingly (like, right after she eats!).

Is your puppy dealing with separation anxiety?

I’m careful to suggest this, because I think separation anxiety in dogs is an overused term, especially for puppies. It’s normal for puppies to cry a bit when left alone for the first week or so. No big deal. Usually, their crying will stop if the owners do not respond to it.

But, if your dog or puppy seems especially anxious about being in her crate or being alone, she may be more likely to eliminate in it, due to stress. If this is the case, I would go back to the basic kennel training techniques to help her feel more comfortable being alone and being in her kennel.

 ‘No, it’s none of the above. My dog just pees in her crate.’

Springer spaniel puppy sleeping in her crate


OK, so if you’ve ruled out all of the above, it could very well be that your dog doesn’t mind peeing in her crate for whatever reason. Most likely, it became a habit at some point when she had no other choice.

Do you know your dog’s history?

Unfortunately, most pet shop puppies are kept in small cages and they often (always?) learn to pee in their confined area since many are not actually taken outside.

Shelter dogs may also learn to pee in their kennel area if they aren’t taken outside for walks often enough. Unfortunately, once a dog has had so many “accidents” it eventually becomes a habit.

The same could be true if your dog came from a foster home or previous owner where they were crated for too long during the day. Maybe the dog simply couldn’t hold it for 10 hours, so peeing in the crate became normal.

Another possibility is that your dog came from a puppy mill background. Sadly, these dogs often have no choice but to eliminate right where they live, sleep and eat.

And finally, the reality is you may not know your dog’s history, but you can still come up with a plan to help her learn not to go potty in her crate.

How to stop a dog from peeing in her crate

OK, now that we’ve ruled out a bunch of possibilities, let’s come up with a plan on what to do if the dog truly doesn’t mind peeing in her kennel.

Ace-and-Cali

Limit time in the kennel (prevention)

One key is prevention. The less time the dog is in the kennel, the less likely she is to go potty in her kennel.

One trick I often recommend for dogs and puppies that are still learning potty training rules is to keep them on a leash when you’re home. This prevents the pup from wandering off to pee in another room, because she is stuck with you.

If the pup is on a leash, you would be able to see when she needs to go out. Regardless, you would still take her out as often as needed. Possibly every 45 minutes at first.

Basically, at all times the dog should either be on a leash with you indoors, outside with you so you can reward good potty habits or confined to a small area.

When you do have to put the dog in her kennel, try to limit that time to an hour or two if possible. I know this is not always realistic, which leads us to the next idea.

Use an ex-pen or gated area and potty pads

I know, I know. I am not a fan of teaching a dog to go potty on fake grass or potty pads or newspapers. I normally would not recommend potty pads, but they can be a possibility for teaching a dog to pee outside of her kennel vs. in her kennel.

Puppy Potty Pee Pads


If you know your dog will almost always pee in her kennel after three hours (or whatever time it might be), and you know you won’t be able to let her out in that time, then the potty pads are an option.

Simply place the open kennel in a small, blocked off area such as a bathroom with a baby gate. Ideally you would choose an area with tiles or linoleum for easy cleaning.

Another option is to put an ex-pen around the kennel, which is basically like a small, indoor fence. Think, a child’s “play-pen” area. A kitchen could be a good place for this.

Then, place the potty pads on the floor outside of the kennel. It’s possible your dog will naturally want to pee on the pads (great!) due to past experience. Or, she may have no idea she is supposed to pee on them. If that is the case, keep the area as small as you can and cover the entire area with the pads.

If she seems to always go in one area, you can eventually reduce the pads to that area. With time, you can cover a smaller and smaller area with the pads. Reward her if you see her going potty on the pads.

See my post: How to train a dog to use pee pads.

Keep rewarding good behavior

The best thing you can do, obviously, is to keep taking your dog outside often and giving her a tasty treat every time she goes potty outside (like real bacon or chicken). If she does happen to have an accident in the house or in her kennel, just clean it up with a high-quality odor remover. Keep using the potty pad technique when you can’t supervise. When you are home, take her outside as often as possible.

With time, most dogs will be successful if:

  • They are taken out often, like every 45 minutes if needed
  • The owners do not wait for the dogs to “tell them” they need to go; they just take them out regardless
  • The dog is kept on a leash and near the owner while in the house
  • The dog is confined to a small area when the owner can’t supervise
  • The dog is given a highly valued treat every time she goes potty outside

Have any of you had to deal with this issue?

What did you do to train your dog not to go potty in her crate?

Let me know, as this seems to be a fairly common problem with dogs. I don’t have all the answers, and it’s nice to hear some different opinions/experiences.

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Related post:

My dog won’t poop in the yard

Stop a dog from peeing in his crate

Heather

Monday 22nd of February 2021

Puppy goes in other dogs kennels and goes to potty. Adequate potty time, we watch food and water intake and I can't seem to cat h him bit anytime a crate is open he goes and does his business. Help!

Lindsay Stordahl

Monday 22nd of February 2021

I would keep him on a leash or close the kennel doors.

Michelle

Monday 12th of March 2018

I have an 8 week old Maltipoo. I will take her out to pee and some days she is good and goes out the doggie door and pees and others like last night she came in, and I make her drag a leash, she peed right in front of me!! I was was pissed! I felt like she did it on purpose! I scolded her and put her in her kennel! I have a kennel in my room where she sleeps and one in my living room where I put her when I leave during the day! She will pee in the one in the living room, but not the one in my bedroom! How can I break her if this? Today I’m very upset with her and don’t want to keep her if she is doing this on purpose! Any suggestions?

Carol

Wednesday 7th of February 2018

I have a 15 nth old Australian Shepard /border collie mix that I adopted from our local shelter when he was 8 weeks old. He Is an inside dog and has been completely house and crate broken for months, but just out of the blue, he has recently started urinating in his crate, does anyone have any ideas on why he would start this habit?

Jesse

Thursday 14th of December 2017

I have a 5 month old st bernard male puppy who is just a shit head. For example, I he will pee in the house, take him out and he will pee outside, come in and per again. Repeat this process for the next 2 hours. He cannot have a bed because he has peed on all of them, roughly $100 worth of beds. A couple days ago I sat down with my morning coffee after taking him outside to go potty and play in the snow, he comes over and stares at me, got bored and walked right over to his bed and peed all over it. This morning, I had him out 20 minutes before my fiance got home and he did both deeds, he decided peeing in our hallway was a good idea. He has no problem just peeing wherever and whenever he needs to go. Kennel? He doesn't care. Living room? Sure, why not! The bed he sleeps on, even better! He was just on antibiotics for 2 weeks to see if that resolved the problem. Nope. For instance, I put him in his kennel to go get my son from school and he started peeing right away. I am a stay at home mom and can literally take him out every half hour and he still pees in the house. He is such a little shit head that I have to kennel him when I want to eat even if he was just out cuz he will pee on the floor every time I sit down to eat. I cannot possibly limit his water intake anymore without dehydrating him. I cannot leave water out to let him self regulate because he will drink till he pukes. He gets fed every morning around 8:15, small lunch around 12:30 and dinner around 5:30 with water at these times, taking water away completely at 6 pm. This puppy just does not care and I am at my whitts end.(sorry for any grammer errors, typing on my phone)

Lindsay Stordahl

Friday 15th of December 2017

Hi Jesse, that sounds so frustrating! Hang in there, it will get better. Try not to think of it as him not caring or him being naughty. He's still a puppy and truly doesn't understand the rules yet. Some dogs just take longer to potty train than others. I got my weimaraner at 8 weeks and he was not 100% potty trained at 5 months. Below is a post that might help you brainstorm some ideas, but I would go back to the basics. Truly take him out every 45 mins or so, even more often if he doesn't go while he's out. Reward him when he does go outside. And I agree, he is better off without a bed or blanket for now. Not worth it! Good luck!

https://www.thatmutt.com/2016/06/13/how-long-potty-train-puppy/

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