Peeing in crate

[mina]

I know there have been numerous postings about this topic, but I couldn't really find an answer to this specific issue: My 11-month-old boxer pees in her crate only when I place linen inside with her. After she has done this, I will remove the linen (usually a large fluffy pillow/bed) and not place any linen in her crate for about a week or two. When I replace the linen, she pees on it again, only to have me replace it again after about another week or two has passed. I hate to have her lying in her crate with no bedding because it's such a hard surface. I know the issue is not that she is crated for too long because she's only crated for about 5-6 hours of the night and she is taken out immediately before being crated. I also don't think it's a UTI because she's not going anywhere else in the house - nor will she go inside the crate if there is no linen or bedding there. Please help!

[Anna Begins]

I don't put anything inside Luka's crate because I am afraid of him soiling it. I wouldn't worry so much- dogs lay on concrete, all kinds of hard surfaces. I felt bad about it at first too, until Luka started sleeping on the linoleum floor.

[gmacleod]

Well, what it actually means is that during the 5-6 hours she's crated, she needs to potty. Because she's in her crate she has to choose whether to hold on and be uncomfortable, or to pee and have to sit in it. When there is bedding (which soaks up the pee) the lesser of the two evils is relieving herself. When there is no bedding, the lesser evil is holding on, even if she's uncomfortable.

IMO you need to either find a way (coming home, getting a dog walker, etc) to let her out for a potty break, or else forget about putting any bedding in the crate until she's a bit older.