Why does my puppy pee in their crate during the day?
Puppies often urinate within minutes of being crated during the day despite holding their bladder overnight. This happens because daytime crating triggers elimination before naps or when left alone, preventing them from settling down peacefully.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Taking the puppy outside on a leash and waiting until he peesDid this help you?
- 2Following a strict awake and crate scheduleDid this help you?
- 3Trying to take the puppy out to go to the bathroom a few minutes after putting him in the crateDid this help you?
- 4Tracking eating and poop timesDid this help you?
- 5Covering the crate with a blanketDid this help you?
- 6Leaving white noise onDid this help you?
- 7Tossing treats in the crate randomly to make it a positive spaceDid this help you?
- 8Walking the puppy at odd, quieter hoursDid this help you?
- 9Taking the puppy outside on a lead to minimize distractions.Did this help you?
- 10Rewarding with high-value treats immediately upon pottying outside.Did this help you?
- 11Crating the puppy for 15 minutes after an unsuccessful outdoor attempt and trying again.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“we’ve been having issues with her weeing in the house.”source ↗
“No matter how long I wait outside with her or how boring I make it (always take her out on a lead to prevent distractions), as soon as she comes back in the house she wees.”source ↗
“I give her lots of praise on the occasions she does wee outside but it just doesn’t seem to be clicking.”source ↗
“My puppy is about 4 and a half months old. When we got her it was already a struggle to get her to pee and poop.”source ↗
“If nobody is home, she goes.”source ↗
“Within five minutes of getting in the crate, regardless of how often he has peed in the yard or been taken outside, he pees.”source ↗
“He will not sleep in the crate until he pees in the crate.”source ↗
“It's only daytime crating that results in this.”source ↗
“Anything after that is very difficult. It's so hard to spend 20 minutes trying to get her to go poop, but she won't because of all the distractions. Then I leave to pick up the kids and she's pooped the entire world out. I knew she had to go, but she just refused. I hate this.”source ↗
“My dog would poop in her crate if she was left alone too long.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Puppy housetrained in one room but pees in another
- 5Why won't my puppy settle in his crate during the day?
- 10Why does my puppy pee indoors right when I come home?
- 21Puppy suddenly won't use indoor patches and pees in apartment hallways
- 12How to tell normal puppy crate whining from real distress
- 8How to potty train a puppy with a busy work schedule