My two year old beagle has been crate trained since we adopted her at six months old. She recently started to poop in her crate! She has never seemed to mind being in her crate. When I let her in during the day that is where she goes and she will just lay in there with the door open. At night we close the door and she has never had a problem. The past two nights she has pooped in her crate. I let her in this afternoon and she peed in there... I don't know what could be wrong... Please help...

Is there any chance that she might be pregnant? Or having a flase pregnancy? My dogs always seem to lose the ability to control themselves when they're pregnant. It sort of makes sense though, maybe they think they're going into labor? If you know she isn't pregnant, try giving her a toy to be her "baby". That should solve the problem if that is her issue. Anyway, I hope that will shed a little light on the situation. Good luck!

The first step in nearly any sudden behavior change is a visit to the vet. If the vet doesn't turn up anything, likely it is a challenge to your leadership. You also need to look at any changes in its routine or diet.

Between genetics and early socialzation, a dog's personality is largely set by 12 weeks. It continues to develop and mature until about 3 years old. They often make a series of challenges to you leadership in their first 3 years. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss