in the last month my 5 year old, house trained, westie has began to randomly poo in the living room. Is it because we leave him in his crate for too long? He seems perfectly happy to stay in his crate no longer than 5 hours as long as he gets a good walk before or after? By the looks of it, its not as if he can't wait to get to the garden he just seems lazy, but could he be ill? Yesterday he didn't even bark at the back door like he always has he just pooped on the carpet in the living room, then today the back door was wide open but he didn't bother going to garden he just did it in the living room again. Does anyone know why? Or know how to stop him? Or do you think I should take him to the vet? Its really annoying but also worrying.

If you are worried, I would take him to the vet, just to be on the safe side. It's best to have any medical illnesses ruled out, and than you can always work on behavior after that.

Make sure to clean the spot with an enzyme cleaner. vinegar and a water solution also works well too. Has there been any changes, new stress, or long trips recently that may be bothering him?

Why the disagree Lisagilber?