Dog Keeps Peeing in the Crate? Here’s Why—and How to Fix It

Crate training a dog can be an immensely useful tool throughout their lifetime. Great examples of crates helping you and your dog include: providing a safe space for anxious pups, containing the chaos with a counter-surfer or garbage can diver, and helping new pets succeed faster in house training. For a crate to help prevent peeing in the house, though, there are some things you need to know. 

Main takeaways

• Crates that are too large may leave enough space for a dog to comfortably pee in their crate and still stay away from the mess. 

• Many medical conditions can affect new or established dogs in your home that might cause them to urinate in their crates. 

• A dog’s age can significantly impact how long they can go between potty breaks, and being in a crate can only buy so much extra time before they need to go. 

• Sticking to a routine and not dismissing the chance of underlying health concerns is the best way to avoid or course-correct a dog peeing in their crate.

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Why do dogs pee in their crates?

There are more reasons a dog might start peeing in their crate than most people realize.

Their routine is out of whack

Dogs live for a good routine. If their schedule changes, the stress may be enough for them to start having accidents. If they are usually in their crate for four hours, but now need to wait there for six, they may need time to adjust before they’re prepared to hold it for six hours. 

If they’re in their crate at a time of day they used to always go pee, their internal clock might not care where they’re located when nature calls. 

They have bladder control issues

A pet’s age affects how well and for how long they can hold their bladder. Puppies can’t hold it as long as adults can, but oftentimes, neither can seniors. Puppies usually cannot hold their bladder for as long as an adult until they’re at least four to six months old. 

Seniors may have weakened urinary tract sphincters, problems emptying their bladder fully, or put off going until it’s urgent (because walking or squatting is painful). Urinary incontinence can also develop as a dog ages or, for female dogs, after being spayed. 

They have medical issues

In a similar vein, many medical conditions can affect bladder control, urgency to urinate, fluid intake, water retention, comfort while peeing, and more. 

These conditions include:

• Diabetes

• Hypothyroidism

• Urinary tract infections

• Urinary crystals or bladder stones

• Adrenal disease

• Cancer

• Kidney disease

• Certain medications, such as steroids

• Disc (spinal) disease

• Pain

• Dementia

• Arthritis

• Some toxins or drugs, such as marijuana

Dogs who were previously doing well in their crate, but are suddenly urinating there, should always be checked by a vet. 

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They have behavioral issues

Dogs who are stressed in their crate are more likely to pee, even if they don’t have space to get away from it. 

Here are some common causes of this type of stress:

• Separation anxiety

• Not having enough training time to be comfortable in their crate

• Being in view of the door, street, or backyard, where stressors can trigger the pet through sight or sound

• Having excess energy they want to work off

• Being bored

Anticipation of abandonment, pain, or stress in dogs who have struggled with or had something negative happen in their crate in the past can also cause accidents. Examples of these include:

• Things falling on or near the crate

• Getting a paw or tooth stuck in the bars

• Not having comfortable enough bedding

• Being stuck there when a parent couldn’t make it home when expected

• Having something scary happen just outside the crate, like other pets fighting

• Being placed in the crate as punishment, or being physically or verbally punished while they’re in the crate

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How to stop a dog from peeing in their crate

If your dog is peeing in their crate, here are five tips to help reduce and stop this behavior.

1. Establish a daily routine

The best way to set up a dog for success is to make it easy for them to anticipate the plan. If they know the first thing you do when you wake up is to let them out of their crate and take them out to pee, they are more likely to wait for that cue. Alternatively, if they don’t know what you usually do before letting them out — or what time of day they usually get to go pee — they have less reason to know not to pee in their crate. 

Just as you might drive home from work comfortably but start the potty dance as you unlock your doors after a long day, dogs also feel much of their urgency to pee based on their routine. 

2. Exercise your dog

An understimulated dog who is focusing on every detail is more likely to encounter a reason to pee, even while they’re still in their crate. Dogs who have had exercise before going into the crate are more comfortable both physically and mentally, and are ready to take a nap until you’re back. 

3. Set up their crate for success

When designing a dog’s kennel space, keep in mind how to help keep them from peeing in the crate. 

Choosing the right size crate is important: They need enough space to get up and turn around, but a crate two to three times longer than they are leaves space to pee in one area and lie down in another. If they have bedding, it can be easy to pee on the bedding, which will soak up the mess, and then lie in another spot if they have enough space to do so. 

When teaching a dog to hold their bladder in a crate rather than to pee, it’s often best to give them a little less space and less or no bedding until they have it down, then they can graduate to more comfy lodgings. 

4. Remove any possible scent while cleaning

Because dogs have much more sensitive noses than we do, they rely on smells found in urine to communicate and decide where to pee in the future. Once a dog has one accident in a crate, they may continue to do so simply because a normal cleaner doesn’t remove that “pee here” signal your dog left behind. 

Enzymatic cleaners or other products that break down proteins — such as white vinegar — are the best way to do this.

5. Get help from a vet

Even with a puppy or a new pet, peeing in the crate is always worth bringing up to your vet. There are so many medical reasons that may cause a pet to pee in their crate that it’s best not to rule out those causes. Vets can also be a great source of advice in dealing with the issue, even if no medical cause is found. They will also be ready with recommendations for trainers.

References

“Housetraining | Indoor Pet Initiative.” Indoorpet.osu.edu, indoorpet.osu.edu/dogs/puppy/housetraining-dogs.