My dog won't stop peeing and pooping in his crate or the house!?

Question

My dog won't stop peeing and pooping in his crate or the house!?
Our male dog is now a year old (this week) and still having accidents in the house and his crate
This dog was crate trained same way as our 2yo female dog. who was successfully potty trained, broken of all destructive behavior, and permanently out of her crate by a 1yo. Our routine has included reward/praise for going outside, taken out on a schedule, fed at the same times, cleaning soiled bedding, etc...
He absolutely knows that he is supposed to go potty outside but he still won't hold it. He routinely holds it for 8+ hours in evening when out and in our company. But for 8 hours in his crate while we're at work, he won't.
We figured he hated the crate so we tried leaving him out and then gating into a puppy safe area. But, he always escapes and poops/pees in the house or chews, pulls things down off surfaces, etc.
He is truly the most wonderfully behaved and sweet dog, but we can't take the mess every day anymore. We're

I feel like he does it when we are gone to be defiant... so i guess I am looking for tips that address that idea.
the dog is fixed...
He is always out when we are home with him.
He is not left in the crate for more than 8 hours. I've never had a dog that couldn't hold it for 8 hours as an adult if they HAD to... and our other dog demonstrates that point as well.
The fact that he can hold it though the night says he is capable of control.
We've caught him in the act and sternly told him "WRONG!"... he knows who's boss.
Besides his routine and consistent schedule for potty breaks, we take both dogs out for a potty break every time we leave the house. On weekends we are typically home with him almost all day, but if we leave and crate him for even the short time of ONE hour (and he goes potty outside right before we leave him), he will still do potty in his crate.
So what do we do? There seems to be no way to win...

Answer 1

have you ever videotaped him while you were gone?

dogs do not have a ":defiant" personality, and they arent "spiteful". those are human characteristics that people like to attribute to animals. most likely, there is something else going on here, like seperation anxiety, or even just general stress. the fact that he can, and will hold it when you are HOME, should be telling you something.

tape it, watch it, and maybe show it to a local trainer or bahviorist. you may find your answer.
( if it is stress, they may commend a DAP Diffuser. it can be found at your local petstore. it can be a life saver in these situations.

Answer 2

I'm wondering why you would ever crate train a dog since you are able to take them out now but it sounds like you are doing the right tings to train the dog now. I had a dog that I would put in the garage when I left. She had a bed and toys out there but she would always poop out there. I started leaving her in the house and the problem stopped on it's own. I would say it sounds like the dog may be stressed. So this is what I would try...I would start with a walk and just keep making the walks longer to tire the dog out. Most dogs sleep while they are left alone. I walked my dog today on a really long walk and a couple short ones. She has been sleeping ever since. She is a hyper dog most of the time. So I would say get up a little early and exercise your dog and see if that helps. Good luck.

Answer 3

The issue is that dogs are poor generalizers - it's not that the dog is "sneaky, greedy" etc, but that they have no intrinsic sense of morality or "rightness" and so only think something is "bad" if it has bad consequences. If it has never had bad consequences except with a human in the room, then how on earth are they to know that the rules still apply with the human out of the room? You need to train in such a way that corrections and rewards occur when the dog does not think you are present - i.e. hiding around the corner. Read here https://tr.im/nycqQ

I personally owned a Labrador Retriever (read: chow hound) that could be left 6" from a hot dog in a sit-stay for half an hour and not touch it - the word was "mine" and it meant that you don't touch that, even if I am not in the room, even if whatever, you DO NOT touch that. You could leave a plate of food on the floor for hours and not only would she not touch it, she would also keep the other animals (dogs and cats) from touching it.

In all probability, these dogs studied were just not properly trained/proofed before the experiment. With "proofing" to set them up and catch them in the act to give

Answer 4

Wow. I found your question tonight because I was looking for help with almost the exact same problem... except my dog is female. We've tried all the same ideas as you have, and nothing has worked for us either.

Like you, my husband and I successfully crate-trained our other dog in a matter of months. So we were shocked that crate-training hasn't worked for this dog.

Like your dog, mine knows to go pee and poop outside, and she goes immediately. She just doesn't know NOT to go inside. Also like yours, she holds it all through the night, and she can hold it all day when we are with her. In fact, she doesn't have accidents at all when we're home. But as soon as we leave, even if she went to the bathroom right before we left, she goes while we're gone. We actually stopped using our crate, because I was so tired of cleaning the poop out of it and then having to bathe her every day.

We were at my mother-in-laws for a 4 hours today, and of course, we came home to another mess. Fortunately, we are able to confine her to the kitchen when we are gone, which is easier clean-up than on carpet, but it's not easier to accept.

Our vet thought she was having separation anxiety. So we tried behavior modifications, and we put her on anti-anxiety medication. However, it has had absolutely no effect. Sigh....

I don't know what to do. We are at our wit's end. We love her, and we are committed to keeping her, but it is so frustrating. Someone suggested dog diapers, but our vet said they can be harmful if the dog chews them or goes in them and then has to sit in a soiled diaper.

The only idea I have is to use puppy pad. I am thinking that if we can at least get her to go on that, versus the floor, then maybe she can slowly learn to stop going everywhere else. Have you tried these? I am not optimistic about anything anymore.

I am sorry you are going through this also. But I am comforted to know that someone knows what it's like! I am going to show my husband your questions, because he is especially frustrated!

L.M.N. from Ohio

Answer 5

Next time you take him to the vet - make sure he does not have a physical problem (UTI?)

It sounds like your dog has separation anxiety. Talk to your vet or a local dog trainer for suggestions.

Do you have 2 dogs or just the 1? If you have two- are they together during the day? If not, it may be helpful for them to be together. Dogs are pack animals and they consider you part of the pack. They get stressed out when they are separated from the pack.

Try taking him for a long walk before you go to work. Wear his doggy fanny out. On top of separation anxiety - he may be cooped up all day with too much energy and that can lead to destructive behavior. Take him for a really long walk or run around the neighborhood every morning before work and as soon as you get home. Make sure he has toys or bones to occupy his time. There are some that are interactive that you can put food into that they have to work to get the food out.

Good luck

Answer 6

Well we are adults and we can hold it at night, all through the night because we are sleeping. But can you really not go to the bathroom the entire time you are at work? That goes for every single day, do you go every day without ever going to the bathroom while you work? The answer should be no. If you don't want him to pee then invest in a dog door and it will be well worth your money.

Answer 7

Sounds like he's stressed when left alone. I think he needs a dog whisperer.