Teething & Behavior
Hey all. Our almost 5 month lab mix is teething; he lost one tooth last night and his molars are definitely coming in. While we have no problem getting him into the his crate when necessary, all of the sudden he has chewed his crate bedding, shredded his crate cover (an old sheet so whatever) and has pooped inside twice the house (not the crate) within the last few days. He gets plenty of exercise, has toys/bully stick in the crate when he is in there, and is plenty stimulated and taken out for potty breaks like usual otherwise. Is it normal to have a setback in behavior/potty training while teething? We've done frozen Kongs and all that. Just curious to hear others experiences. I'm hoping it's just a phase. On the plus side, he starts training classes tonight!
Posted Nov 14, 2019, 7:09 PM UTC
Could be. Could also be that he is heading into the beginning of adolescence if he's mixed with a smaller breed.
Take out the bedding. He doesn't need it - he can sleep comfortably on the crate tray. I'd also remove the crate cover. Put a thin piece of wood on top, and put the crate in a corner that will block two sides, and put a piece of furniture on the third. This will still allow the crate to feel closed in, if he needs that, but he won't be able to pull a cover inside.
How long is he being left in the crate? At this age, his need for exercise will be increasing, so be sure you are keeping up with that.
Sometimes potty accidents at this age are just random. It's not unexpected till six months and older. I wouldn't worry about it unless it continues. Just be sure you are still being careful about taking him out, not expecting him to signal all the time, and not leaving him home too long. Also, sometimes owners start letting up on the supervision part because they figure the worst is over, but the puppy hasn't firmly gotten the idea that he can never go potty inside (within reason) but instead is doing well because of a combination of owner management and not really being pushed to hold it for longer periods. So he needed to go, no one was watching, and he went.
Thank you for responding and your advice. He is crated for 3-4 hours while I am at work; I get him out at lunch to potty, eat, play and walk him (weather permitting) for an hour before I crate him again until my husband comes home 2-3 hours later. He is out with us the remainder of the evening (and unfortunately he started sleeping with us a few weeks ago-long story). I did remove the crate bedding and sheet. I think you are correct-a combo of teething, adolescence beginning, and just being a puppy still is hopefully what's causing this. It just started, so I'll just try to have patience and better management with him.
It won't be long before you will be past all the hard stuff and you'll be so glad that you did all the work to end up with a best buddy!