[Suzie Q]

I recently adopted a 2 year old Jack Russel from a family. She is supposedly crate trained and house trained, however, the crate training is not proving to be very good. She doesn't seem to see her crate as a den but more of a bathroom. She has been very good about not using the bathroom in the house but every time i put her in her crate even if for just 10 min, she goes to the bathroom. I am not confident enough yet to leave her alone without putting her in the crate, but I don't know what to do to break her of her bad habits. Any advise would be appreciated.

[cigwyllt]

She is supposedly crate trained and house trained

I think you have answered your own question :-) I wonder though if she is anxious in the crate now that she is in a new place. Is there any way you could leave her that is not in the crate?

[Lunareclipse]

Try an ex-pen instead of a crate and see how that goes.

[Suzie Q]

Thank you!! I will try a pen or a smaller area without using a crate. (She may jump out though She's got hops!! hahahaha) Do either of you have suggestions on how I could re-train her so that the crate is a "happy place"?

[Lunareclipse]

Try feeding her in there and leave her water in there so she has to go in it to take a drink. But don't shut her in it until she's comfortable going in there by herself. Also leave little peanut butter treats in there too and a trail of treats leading to the crate.

[Lara's mom]

I've raised two shorty JRT's - Unfortunately, the male was mauled to death by a pit bull...Anyway, neither of them "took to the crate." Each one screamed like a devil in holy water for more than an hour before I finally gave up and ditched the stupid crate. Until I could trust them not to mess in the house during the night, I papered my kitchen floor, put a nice soft bed in there along with some toys and blocked the room off with a baby gate. We went from over an hour of screaming to five minutes of whimpering before they settled down. Might be worth a try.

[Suzie Q]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

I papered my kitchen floor, put a nice soft bed in there along with some toys and blocked the room off with a baby gate. We went from over an hour of screaming to five minutes of whimpering before they settled down. Might be worth a try.

Laura's Mom- Did they ever stop messing in the kitchen and is this where you would keep them while at work or running errands, etc?

Last night I actually had a small break through. Some of the pet store employees informed me that the crate I had been using was too big so I tried a smaller one. At bed time, i brought her new (smaller) crate into the bedroom after working with her all evening. She HATES being in there with the door latched, but seems to be OK with it as long as the door is open. After denying her a few times from jumping in bed with us, she walked right into her new crate and slept all night. I am hoping that being patient and not confining her to the crate right away will slowly build her confidence so that eventually I can secure the door. Perhaps I can try the kitchen idea until she is comfortable with her crate! Thank you everyone for all of your input!! This is my first small dog; much different than my last-- Shepherd Mix!

[Lara's mom]

Absolutely. They learned to use paper and to go outside.