[slacier]

Hello,
I have a 5 month old puppy that just started pooping in her crate. When we first started brought her home, she had no problem with the crate. She would occasionally pee, but no poop. The only thing that had changed was my husband and I went out of town and we boarded her and our other dog. Ever since we came home she poops in her kennel. She can even make it through the night. What is wrong? Can you help?

[450donn]

Does she have soft stool?? That might be a sign of something wrong. If her stool is normal (firm) then you need to learn to put her out before bed or change her eating habit. Maybe feed her in the morning and then get her outside. If you feed in the evening, do it earlier in the evening. Our last dog was fed at 5am and 5pm. In the morning he was out first, then eat, in the evening he ate and then was out after dinner.

[labman]

Almost all behavior problems call for a vet visit for a check up. Discuss spaying her too. 6 months is the usual time, and the best idea for most pets. It could be she has decided she is too old to be left in her crate, although it is possible the kennel didn't give them very good care. 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

I would likely not use that kennel again. Once forced to live in her own filth, it may be hard to work her out of fouling her crate. Unless you have changed her schedule, I doubt it is the problem. How long are you leaving her in her crate in the daytime? I hate to see a dog left more than 4-5 hours. If neither of you can make it back to give them a mid day break, can you find a neighbor or a professional dog walker? Doggy day care is always a good idea if you can.

Finally, you can try the old peanut butter in the Kong trick. Fill a Kong with peanut butter and leave it in the crate for her. The more food motivated dogs will be to busy trying to lick the peanut butter out to do anything else. Freeze it to make it last longer if you need to.

[slacier]

Does she have soft stool??? That might be a sign of something wrong. If her stool is normal (firm) then you need to learn to put her out before bed or change her eating habit. Maybe feed her in the morning and then get her outside. If you feed in the evening, do it earlier in the evening. Our last dog was fed at 5am and 5pm. In the morning he was out first, then eat, in the evening he ate and then was out after dinner.

Thank you for your answer. Her stool is normal. We take her out right before bed and up early in the morning. She usually eats at 5am and 5:30pm.

[labman]

I forgot to mention, it is a good idea to walk them around a bit to stimulate a bowel movement when you take them out.

[bushg]

Slacier, this should have been posted in dog's not Zoology. I wish Labman would have moved it there. This post and expert advice could be of great help to the next person that is looking for similar advice.