I have a 9 month old pug that just started in the last 4 days pooping in her crate. I live in Vancouver BC and we have had weather really hot above average. We have for a few months had no seperator in the crate and all was well. She would poop in the house outside of the crate every few days but not in the crate. We need to work on her schedule and not letting her have the run of the house if she does not do her business.

Right now in the last 4 days she is pooping in her crate after being left for under 4 hours. Last night I blocked off half and she was good through the night but during the day after 3 hours in the crate she poops. Could this have to do with the really warm house as we have no air conditioning? She has never had the problem of pooping in her crate.

We are really confusing as the poop is normal consistancy.

My guess she has decided she is a big girl now and is protesting being left in the crate. However, the first step is a trip to the vet explaining the problem.

If she hasn't been spayed, she could be coming into season, and who knows what sort of flaky behavior she will do. If she is very far along, you may be stuck with going through it. Mostly expect desperate attempts to get loose and go find a male. Once loose, anything can happen. Of course not even a 6' fence will stop the boys from getting to her. The only good thing about her season causing it is that once she is over it, you can have her spayed, and likely it will go away.

Otherwise, you may need to give her better leadership. 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

Adding a peanut butter filled Kong to the crate may help too.