[bcab]

My 4 yr old female spayed gordon setter urinates in her crate. It usually occurs overnight. She is let out frequently unsupervised, but always let out before I go to bed. Her overnight in the crate is never longer then 8 hrs. I have tried giving her Proin with little or no success. Any help would be appreciated

[labman]

If it is a behavior issue, I doubt I can help you fix it now. I don't even have a good record on younger dogs. I could suggest the same confidence building techniques as for submissive wetting. Start with obedience training. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete As you praise the dog for following your commands, it will build its confidence.

Play tug of war with the dog and lose. However at the end of the game, take the rope or toy and put it up, less the dog becomes confused about who is top dog.
Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made
Lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the
Foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get
Them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch
Carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

If Proin didn't help, an anti anxiety drug might.

Make sure she moves around on the last trip out for the night. It stimulates the body to relieve itself. Take up the water dish about 7 PM.

The last thing is a grid in the crate. This does not fix the problem, just makes it easier to live with. They are available with the crates, but expensive and hard to find. A piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper. I am now using a plastic vegetable bin with plenty of holes drilled in the bottom. Here is a picture of my Holly last fall:

[ATYOURSERVICE]

Seek a vet. When I was a yound man my dog had bladder issues. Something about it dropping.I rememeber we gave him some pills for a while and then he ran away, but that's not the point. Not to make fun, but my mom had the same problem.. lol... she had a surgery though.