House Training Puppy

I have posted in a previous question but never got a response.  My puppy is 4-1/2 months old, male, Goldendoodle (thinks he is the alpha).  We have had him for ~2months.  We are having a problem with house training.  We had a urine test done which came back clean.  When I am with him he is great.  Can go all night (up to 9 hours) without an accident.  Can also go for hours during the day following me around the house without any accidents.  We put him in a crate when we have to go out.  He has never been in the crate for more than 3 hours at a time.  He is taken out before and after the crate.  When put in the crate he will urinate.  He could have been in there for only 1/2 hour and still urinate.  On one occastion, I had him outside for about an hour.  I needed to put him in the house for <5 minutes.  When I came back in to get him, he had urinated on the kitchen floor.  He will also urinate on the kitchen floor when under my husbands care (he does not keep as close an eye on him).  I am getting the feeling that he is doing this out of spite.  Any suggestions on how to handle this problem?  We are presently going to puppy classes which I am not impressed with.  After the classes are over I plan on looking for obedience classes (some place different) for the Alpha issues.

Thank you for any suggestions you might have!

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

I am glad your puppy does not have a urinary tract infection.

My recommendations to you are to scrub all the areas where he has had accidents with a bleach solution, rinse well, than use Nature

[peekawho]

Our youngest Dobe did the same thing.  No matter how long he was in the crate, he would pee in there..no matter if it were for 5 min or 4 hours.  He has just recently completely stopped doing it, and he's 2+ years old.  

It seemed to be his way of expressing his dislike of being put in there, away from all the action.  Even though the other 2 dogs were in crates right next to him.

What I did was to start feeding him in there most of the time.  He doesn't seem to like to pee where he eats, so he stopped peeing.  I also make sure when I go out, I leave a tasty treat in there that lasts him for hours.  I keep several Kongs filled with canned dog food in the freezer.  He gets one whenever I put him in the crate.  He loves it.  

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Good Suggestion!
I endorse you comment fully!

Dr. Cheng

[DinaGrimes]

Thank you for your comments!  I will give the Kong idea a try and hopefully that will work.  

He does let us know when he wants out by going to the back door (and can actually let himself out the back door when not locked).  He just does not like to be left alone.  Even in going outside he wants one of us to be out there with him.  This can be a problem when I need to work on something else.  I am checking into obedience classes (other than the one we are taking him to now) and will hopefully find better ways to deal with all of his issues.

Thank you for your advice!