How do I stop my puppy from going #2 in her crate?

Question

My wife and I recently added a female Siberian Husky to our household. We have been crate training her and she is doing really well except for the fact that about once a day she will poop in her crate. We try to make sure that she goes out before we leave her and we always take time during lunch to come home and let her out. We have a 1 year old pound puppy that we got when he was 10 weeks old and never had the same problem with him when he was being trained. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

He may be suffering from separation anxiety. See link below for a fact sheet to help diagnose and treat this issue if this is the case:

http://nehumanesociety.org/trainingandpetcare/behaviorproblems/behaviorarticles/dogarticles/separationanxiety.pdf

How big is the crate? Always be sure that the crate is just large enough for the dog to stand up and turn around in - any larger and they may be able to make one side the bathroom side and the other side the sleeping side. Dogs are naturally very clean animals in regards to their bathroom habits and they don't like to dirty themselves with their urine and feces. Note, however, that a dog from a bad situation - like an unethical breeder or a puppy mill - may have been forced to lay in its waste as a newborn, and that natural "clean" instinct is compromised. If that's the case, you may need to halt the crate training while that issue is worked on (generally, treatment starts with the puppy being in a larger area with puppy pads laid down - like a kitchen, laundry room, or bathroom - where he has plenty of room to separate his sleeping and bathroom habits. He should eventually re-discover the instinct.).

You can also try restricting her food in the morning so she doesn't have anything to defecate. Even young puppies can be on scheduled feedings and fed once or twice a day.

Answer 2

When I first got a puppie I used things called puppy pads. I remember buying them at a pet store called Southern Agriculture, but that was in Oklahoma. They are almost like thin blankets you lay out for your puppie and the puppie smells the pad and it trains it to use the bathroom on it, if it really has to go. Its a lot easier to clean up too.
When I could start being home more and letting my puppie out, I put a leash on the back doorknob and attached a bell to it. Eventually my dog was trained to go ring the bell when she had to use the bathroom. She still rings the bell when she has to go, and shes almost 5 now.

Hope I helped =D

Answer 3

You need a smaller crate should just be enough room for the dog to lay down