I posted about a week ago about issues we've had with our 15-week-old Rottie/Shepherd mix puppy pooping (and well, peeing, too) in his crate. We'd made progress to the point where he'd only had one accident in a week until exactly the one week mark. At that point, he pooped in his crate one night (around midnight - unusual as he usually does not need to poop overnight at all) and then twice the following day. Yesterday he peed in his crate while my husband was in the garage working and then today pooped again. The biggest problem - he was pooping and then trying to stay out of the mess, but today we were gone for under 2-1/2 hours and came home to find that every inch of our puppy, his crate and even around the crate (which is covered with a towel) was full of poop.

We'd made such progress and he was doing well, but we are absolutely back to where we started. We are also having problems with him waking up every 2 hours at night (he used to take one potty break around 3 am and then was ok until breakfast at 5:30) as well. I am starting to wonder if all of this is anxiety-related, although the only dramatic change has been that we were gone much of the day on Friday and a neighbor he knows well came to let him out during the day. These problems began 2-3 days before that, however, so it seems that the root cause must be something else.

We are having to seriously consider bringing him back to the SPCA because our entire lives are absolutely revolving around him even down to me only having had 4-5 hours of sleep a night for the last month. He's never been left alone for hours on end and he has enjoyed his crate ever since we got him acclimated to it. We ignore whining/barking in the crate and make him settle down before getting out to go potty when we think that is the cause of the behaviors.

I love him, but my marriage is even being affected by the little guy because we are both exhausted and have no time for each other (not to mention taking care of the house, etc).

I'm not sure why he did pretty well for an entire week and then completely regressed and seems to become anxious randomly when left alone. We ignore negative behaviors as much as possible, but suddenly there seems to be more anxiety or something. He's not a high-strung dog, especially for being so young, but lately it seems like he has bouts of anxiety or something. I don't think it's separation anxiety because it's inconsistent.

Sorry for the length - there are so many details that seem relevant. Any input/help would be appreciated! I really want him to be a part of our family.

My dog (now 6 months) had a relapse at about that age too. Not sure why, but it did get better! Reminded me of when my son was starting potty training...he did great for a while, then regressed a bit, then potty trained!

Puppies are a LOT of work! As much as a baby person! Sit down with your spouse and really talk about this. Do you want to put up with no sleep and some messes for a little while longer or not? Then you guys can move on, either with training your puppy or finding him a new home.

We're pretty invested in him at this point... Hours of lost sleep, training and about $1,200 have gone towards helping this little guy have a good, healthy start.

Yesterday he had a bout with diarrhea - we live in FL and he often finds dead frogs in the grass and tries to chew on them. We think he might have actually eaten one and got some bacteria from it. He's never unattended, but it's possible he got one and swallowed it without us catching him. Anyway, part of the issue yesterday was probably anxiety/illness and I have to cut him some slack on that. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Anyway, it looks like we're back on the right path. Thanks for the input - it really helps to hear other people say, "Oh, my dog did that, too and now things are great".

Cut the little guy some slack. What are you feedin him? Has that been changed recently? Has he possiby gotten into the garbage that you might not know about? (My Dobe pup did that, and ate about 12 short rib bones whole!) Do you give him rawhide to chew on? My pup chews off chunks then swallows them, occasionally getting loose bowel movements from it.
How about cookies and treats? He could have a mild food allergy that is affecting him.
You could also try to keep him crated only at night when he must be. Try to not feed past 6 pm at night, and take away his water by 8pm. Good long walk/play time at about 10pm and he should do fine until 5-6 am anyway.
Good Luck with him, have patience and rule out other causes for this before you send him to another home. You can do this!! He will reward you 10-fold with his love and respect in a relatively short time period.

Welcome to raising a puppy....it is a job in it self trying to raise a house dog...like u said many sleepless nights and alot of wondering if we did the right thing on getting the puppy...mine is 11 months old and he has been a handful...i do beleive we finally got him though a whole night od not having to go outside when he reached 6 or 7 months old...i kept telling my wife that his bladder will be bigger soon..i was up every two hours letting him out to do his business and finally it has paid off....hang in there...a good night's sleep is coming for u soon...time invested now in this dog will pay you back in years of love, protection and devotion

Everyone's right...hang in there. Having a dog that age is exactly like having a baby. Well, sort of anyway. At least the pooping stops earlier than it would with a baby! Our 11-year-old Shih Tzu that we newly adopted had a pooping problem too and my boyfriend and I just used her episodes as a way to bond and laugh. Always look to the sun, and don't let these little things bother you. Let being with the dog be your time together. I've always asked my boyfriend why a lot of people think being with a puppy is work. It has never been work for me. I've been doing this for more than eight years and I've never been sick of it. (I just helped raised four native puppies while on vacation in the Philippines last year and I thought for sure that would make me hate puppies forever. Now I have a new one, and I've never been happier).