Housebroken 3 yr old urinating in crate

[hoosiermommy1]

I have a 3 year old male Old English Sheepdog that is crate trained. During the past 8 months he has begun urinating in his crate while my husband and I are at work during the day. It doesn't appear to matter how long he is in his crate, be it 10 minutes or 4 hours. He has urinated in the crate at both time intervals after we have left the house. We thought it was caused by a lack of exercise, so we began taking him for a 1.25 mile walk every morning after we get up. This works on an intermittant level but not consistently. We've had him checked out by the vet for a Urniary Tract Infection and he's fine. When he is in the house while we're home, he is perfectly house trained and only urinates when he take him out or let him go in the fenced in back yard, so we know he is capable of self control. We are at our wits end and don't know what to do. HELP!!!

[adunphy]

3 months is still quite young. How long is he alone? When does he get water?

[hoosiermommy1]

No. He is 3 years old. Not three months old.

[adunphy]

This is sometimes called "dirty dog syndrome" - dogs who dont know or have that natural instinct to not go in the crate. There are things you can do - cleaning it thoroughly, removing bedding, feeding the dog in the crate, but you might look into putting your dog in a doggie proof room, providing plenty of opportunities to go outside to go potty, using a litter box if necessary and keeping a limit to the water.

Amy