I just recently adopted a two year old dog from an animal shelter, he's never been house trained. When I first put him in his crate he would wait till I took him out to go pee and poop, however recently he has taken to pooping and peeing in his crate all over his bed. People said he wouldn't pee on place he sleeps, but obviously that is not true. I take him out early in the morning when I wake up, feed him and thirty minutes to and hour later I take him out as vets told me to, and then I crate him. I go to school and he's never alone for more than three hours, but when I come home he's both peed and pooped on his bed in his crate. How do I get him to stop? His crate is big enoug for him to stand up in, turn around and lay down, so it's not that crate is too big or too small. I let him out when I'm home, but if I leave him out for longer than an hour he'll go on the carpet. I've been trying to train him for a month with little success. Help!

He's never been house trained (was he an outside dog?) so this is a VERY new experience for him. I would make certain he has no health problems (and he apparently has been seen by a Vet) and then I would continue to work with him. The thought that a dog has to live in his waste horrifies me - have you tried a bigger crate? It won't solve the problem but it will keep him clean. I had one dog I adopted at about a year and it took me over 6 months to housebreak her. Some of the problem was her anxiety; some of the problem was changing her former habits.

Does he give you an indication he's about to urinate? If you can get his attention and rush him outside he'll get the "hint."

He's never been adopted before, and the animal shelter he had a space for his sleeping area, and a doggy door that led outside to a caged area where he would poop and pee. He has no health problems that I'm aware of. He shows no indications either.

Do you know what his background is (poor guy!)?

I think this is going to take a LOT of patience... and time. I would get him a bigger crate (so he's not in his own filth) and keep an eye on him. Someone once posted that she kept her dog on a leash and the leash on her wrist so she could monitor his every movement. I thought it was a really silly idea... but I wonder if that would work here?

I would think the dog just doesn't know what's expected of him.

I guess you have to take him out more often and then praise him to the skies if he does his duty outside. I wouldn't make a big deal out of his mistakes.