Puppy still pooping in crate
All right, so I wrote a few months ago about my problems with my puppy pooping in his crate. He is now over 6 months old and still doing it. I am quite sure that he has never really bonded with his crate and I do not know how to remedy this. He does not have accidents inside the house (besides the occasional dribble when he gets excited by company). However, he consistently poops in the crate when I am at work and recently when he is sleeping in there at night. I am a really light sleeper and if he starts to whine, I will take him outside and put him immediately back in whether he goes, but on the past few occasions, he has only whined AFTER he has gone in his crate. It has unfortunatey been difficult to keep a really strict schedule with him because I am a waitress and the times and duration of my shifts fluctuates greatly. I praise him VERY highly on the rare occasion that I arrive home and he has not soiled his crate. I scold him a little when he has, but since I don't catch him in the act, I don't scold him very harshly. I have had him since he was 9 weeks old and after cleaning up after him, sometimes multiple times a day, I feel as though I am reaching my wit's end. I need ANY alternatives that anyone can give me. (By the way, he is a chewer, so leaving him outside of the crate would not be my first choice). I also live in an apartment, so there is no conveniently fenced yard. Please Help!