We simply cannot stop our pup from pooping in it's dog crate. We let it outside and it comes right back in and relieves itself in the house or crate. What can we do?

Question

Hello, I know I write an awful lot but this has been the biggest problem I have ever dealt with. I have had other dogs (old and passed away now) and I have never run into this problem... My GSD pup (13 weeks old) has been peeing and pooping in his crate ALL THE TIME. He is in the crate when I leave my house, and I saw in one of your articles to crate train a dog you should place the dog in the crate a lot until he gets used to it. WELL, my pup will not stop peeing or pooping in his crate. No, the crate is not big enough for him to poop or pee on one side and lay down on the cleaner other side. He pees, and lays in it! I take him out all the time, almost every 15 minutes to half hour just so I can make sure he will start going outside. When he goes outside I give him all the praises in the world, he runs inside, and pees in my kitchen right away!!! Other times I will put the pup in the back yard and watch him for 15 minutes straight. He pees and refuses to poop. So I wait and wait and wait. The MINUTE he gets inside he runs right to the kitchen or crate and poops and pees more. What on earth can be causing this? I do like you say in your Q A articles and not rub their face in it, I shake their scruff like you said the mothers do, he yelps and he will then go pee outside, then he comes right back inside and does it again. At night, I get up frequently to let the pup out of his crate to the back yard to go pee, he goes out and pees. But then the minute I put him back in the crate he pees a ton more again! So he never finishes peeing it seems like... But he sits at my back door and screams when he wants inside and he will NOT go pee outside once he wants to come in. The he pees in my house the minute we get inside... He poops all the time in his crate then lays in it, but I leave him outside up to an hour or two after eating, and he WILL NOT go poop, but then poops in his crate right away. Is there something else I should try or am I wrong at what I do?

    Thanks,
    Kelli

Accepted Answer

This sounds like a pretty serious problem. Many puppies that develop this problem do so because the breeder did not keep their puppies in a clean environment. Dogs are creatures of habit, these puppies learn to live like pigs, they don't know any better. When this happens it takes a lot of work to change.

The fact is that it does not matter if your dog developed like this because of the litter or because you allowed it to happen. Either way, this is a human (the breeder or you) induced problem and not a dog problem.

The solution begins with understanding the issue. Dogs relieve themselves after they eat, sleep or have exercise. These are the three factors to think about. The one that does not seem to be in your equation is exercise. Letting the dog outside and watching from the window is not the way to exercise a puppy. You need to start to walk your dog. If walked far enough the dog will poop outside. When it poops you need to praise the heck out of the dog. Wait until its done or you will become a distraction when you praise and the dog will stop. You need to make walks a part of how you handle this dog. If you can sit and watch through the window for 15 minutes you can get a leash and walk the dog for 15 to 20 minutes. The fact is that walking also allows you to bond and train your dog.

You also need to deal with the food of the dog. Control the water by picking it up around 6 PM and make sure that it gets two walks before bed time.

You misunderstood what I said about making a dog live in the crate. I said that in reference to getting the dog used to being in the crate. Puppies scream when they are initially put in a crate. The solution is to make the pup stay in the crate for extended periods of time. This continues until the dog realizes that screaming is not going to get him out of the crate. But the owner also needs to be getting the pup out of the crate to go outside at regular intervals, but then back into the crate.

In my opinion one of the best ways to help a pup with housebreaking is to put it on an all-natural diet. This means the dog gets an all meat and veggie diet and no kibble. Kibble takes 16 hours to pass through a dog and an all meat diet passes through in 5 hours. So in addition to being way healthier for the dog it also aids in house breaking. I have articles on my web site on feeding. You can also learn more about it in the little book we sell titled Natural Nutrition in Dogs and Cats.

I would recommend that you consider purchasing my training video titled Your Puppy 8 Weeks to 8 Months. This tape has 2 hours of solid information and does not cost a lot of money. I give it to all of my puppy customers and NEVER get questions about house training, puppy behavioral problems or training. You can get additional information about what the tape covers on my web site.