E-MAIL FEB 2, 2009 TO DR SING  
From: ...
Subject: crate
To: drsing@pacific.net.sg 
Date: Monday, February 2, 2009, 6:47 PM

I have a 6 month old Jack Russell who is crate trained. Howver, if I
leave him alone in the house in the crate, he dirtys in the crate. Can
you help me?


E-MAIL FEB 2, 2009 FROM DR SING  
2/4/2009 6:44:30 PM >>>
Most likely, his space inside the crate is too small. Maybe you can put
him in a small room e.g. a bathroom or  tether him to something in a bathroom so that he
can have a clean sleeping and eating area and a toilet area (e.g. the
crate). 

Can you email to me a picture of your JR inside the crate? 

E-MAIL FEB 7, 2009 FROM DR SING  1. Thank you for your photo. 2. The crate is too small. The dog has grown up. He has insufficient separate toilet area and therefore has to dirty himself. 3. TETHER METHOD. In your situation when you go to work, it is best to tether the dog to  the sofa chair, for example. 3.1 In this way, the dog has access to the toilet area (e.g. pee pan with newspapers) and sufficient clean area to sleep (e.g. the crate).  4. SMALL ROOM/AREA METHOD.  The dog has sufficient clean area and a further area to pee and poop (e.g. onto the pee pan with newspapers or tiled floor). The dog sleeps away from the toilet area ON THE CLEAN TILED FLOOR AREA OR BLANKET/DOG BED on the tiled floor. The room is small such that the dog has not much space to eliminate everywhere. 5.  SMALL ROOM/AREA & GRATE METHOD. The dog has sufficient clean area (ie. the Crate) and a further area to pee and poop (e.g. onto the pee pan with newspapers or tiled floor). The dog GOES INSIDE THE CRATE (clean area) to rest. The room is small such that the dog has not much space to eliminate everywhere. 5.1 As he is MALE dog, he may start urine-marking. This is often mistaken for the dog being  "angry" and "vindictive" when left home alone or a regression in toilet training.  5. CRATE TRAINING. Please let me know what you mean by "crate-trained"? There are many meanings. In one meaning, "crate training" refers to the 3-MONTH-OLD puppy being crated e.g. every 2-3 hours and taken to the toilet to eliminate. After that he is crated. In this way, the  puppy knows where to eliminate.  6. Best wishes and let me know whether you are successful in toilet training. Putting the dog inside a bathroom may be the better method if you have one spare bathroom. If not, the TETHER method.