Can Crate Training Cause Diarrhea In Chihuahuas?

Are you in the middle of teaching your chihuahua puppy to use a crate when all of a sudden he starts having diarrhea? You might wonder if the cause of diarrhea was the crate training or if there is another reason. The short answer is that crates don’t cause diarrhea in chihuahuas by themselves. However, chihuahuas will get diarrhea when they are frustrated. If your dog is anxious and upset in the crate, it’s likely that this will make his stomach upset.

Let’s take a closer look at why chihuahuas and puppies get diarrhea and how to tell if it’s because of the crate.

The 3 Main Causes of diarrhea

Chihuahuas often have diarrhea as a sign that something is wrong. It can be caused by various factors, some of which are harmless and some of which are very dangerous. Here are the ones that are most common in dogs:

1. Upset digestion

When chihuahuas eat the wrong things, their stomachs and bowels can get upset, just like when people eat the wrong things. Puppies who like to put everything in their mouths are more likely to get diarrhea than other puppies. Your chihuahua puppy could chew on a stick in the yard, and when you put him in his crate a few hours later, diarrhea could be caused by the stick.

Also, your chihuahua puppy’s stomach is more sensitive the younger he is.  It will slowly get used to any new foods. If you give your puppy a new food or treat in large amounts, he may get diarrhea.

2. Intestinal parasites

Worms and giardia are the most common parasites in dogs. Even though these can cause sometimes severe diarrhea, they are easy to treat.

Because intestinal parasites that last for a long time can cause your dog to lose weight and grow slowly, you should take him to the vet if he has diarrhea for more than 1-2 days.

3. Stress

This could be something new, like going to a training class or dog park for the first time. Scary things can also make you feel stressed out and give you diarrhea. If your chihuahua puppy gets scared by a storm or a big truck, he might have loose stools as a result. This is another link between diarrhea and crate training.

When crate training Is The Cause Of Diarrhea

If you don’t slowly and carefully get your chihuahua familiar with his crate, he may be scared and stressed. You should never just throw your chihuahua in a crate, shut the door, and walk away. This could make him very upset and give him diarrhea as a result.

Your chihuahua should be able to fit in the crate. Do not choose a crate that is too small. If your dog can’t move around easily in the crate, this will add to his stress and anxiety.

If your dog has been crying for a long time, you should check on him. When a chihuahua cries, it’s because he is upset, and if you don’t pay attention to it, the dog can get more and more upset. Again, this stress will end up making the dog lose its stools.

Does Your Chihuahua Puppy Poops In The Crate And Lays In It?

Does your chihuahua do his business in his crate and then lie down in it? This is not a good manner to act, and you have to act immediately.

Puppies who came from breeders who weren’t clean are more likely to act this way. If their pen wasn’t cleaned and their feces weren’t taken away, they never learned how to keep their surroundings clean.

The cleaner your chihuahua puppy’s surroundings were during his first two months, the more likely it is that the dog will never poop in his crate again.

If your chihuahua puppy poops in the crate and then sleeps in it, you should:

• Give your chihuahua a bath and clean the crate.
• Take your dog out a lot more, especially after he eats.
• Stay with him outside to make sure he really went to the bathroom
• Give your chihuahua puppy lots of mental and physical things to do. Most dogs go to the bathroom after they’ve been moving around for a while, so walking and playing with your puppy can get him to go to the bathroom outside.
• Keep a record of when your chihuahua puppy poops in his crate every day. Most dogs poop at about the same time every day. If you know when he needs to go to the bathroom, you can take him out at that time.
• Check to see if the poop is loose. If it is, your dog may have parasites in its gut and needs to see a vet.

Many chihuahua puppies do their business at night in their crate. You can try feeding your puppy earlier in the afternoon if this happens. It takes a puppy’s digestive system about 6 hours to break down a meal. When you feed your puppy dinner at 8, he will probably go to the bathroom in his crate at 2 in the morning.

If you can make dinner earlier, your chihuahua puppy will be able to go to the bathroom before bed. If you feed your dog dinner at 6 p.m., you can take him out to go potty at 10 p.m., when he’s most likely to poop out his dinner, and his crate will stay cleaner all night.

When you notice that your chihuahua puppy has diarrhea in his crate that you can’t stop, you should always take him to the vet. He might feel better with medicine.

Last Word

Putting your chihuahua in a crate to sleep and rest calmly does not give him diarrhea. But there is no doubt that dogs can have loose stools when they are feeling stressed. If your chihuahua puppy is afraid of the crate and cries and whines in it, he may get diarrhea because he is very sad. In this situation, you need a better plan for crate training. For instance,  Make sure your chihuahua puppy has enough exercise before putting him in the crate, or move the crate to a place where he can still hear and see you.

Take your chihuahua puppy to the vet if he has diarrhea for more than a day. He might have parasites in his gut. Giardia is a common illness in young puppies that is easy to treat.

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