Dogs Urinate in Their Crate

[Guido]

I have two German Shorthaired Pointers 21 months old dogs.
They are both trained to sleep in their crate at night.
I put them in their crates at about midnight and I take them out at about 6:30 AM. The male urinate in his crate everynight, the female once in awhile.
They are both very educated in the house and in the backyard during the day.
Any suggestion to prevent this bad habit?
Guido

[KOPcaroline]

Hey Guido,

When you put your dogs in their crate at midnight, do you take them out first? Dogs at 21 months, especially those who are well housetrained otherwise, should be able to get through a full 8 hour night without accidents, so its strange that they consistantly have trouble with a 6 hour period.

Do they go into their crates any other time? If yes, do they have accidents then? How big are the crates - if they are just used for sleeping they shouldnt be too big, a lot of room can cause problems with bad behaviour in the crate.

To try and keep the accidents in the crate to a minimum you can try feeding them in their crate - dogs usually dont like to go to the bathroom where they eat, you might try this for a while to see if it helps. Be sure to take them out right before bed, and try restricting water from about 8 oclock at night, so they cant drink up and need to pee at night.

I'll keep thinking on this, its a bit strange! But please keep us updated and if you dont mind answering those questions, I'll try to get some good ideas!

[Guido]

Thank you so much for your reply.
I take them out of their kennel at about 11:00 PM. They run a lot in my backyard and they drink out of the pool. Before I take them in the house to their crates I have them to pee in their usual relief place, after they do I take them to their crates. The male crate is big, the female is smaller.
I normally feed my dogs at 6PM. Should I take them inside the house and feed them in their crates and then take them back to their kennels?
Thank you,
Guido

[KOPcaroline]

Hey Guido,

Any way you can limit their access to the pool? Is there a fence or gate you can close it off with, so they cant drink at 11pm?

I would try bringing them in, feeding in the crates, and then back out again, but leave their bowls in the crate. That'll help them get the idea that its a food area, not a urination area.