our little Yorkie, named Louie

Question
Louie, our 3 and 1/2 year old Yorkie has started to poop daily in the house while we are away at work. Yesterday an adult was home and he did it again. We are worried as to why now after being trained he is doing this. His stools are not loose, he doesn't pee, its just poop and sometimes he does it in several places in the house. He has a very sweet nature. He is alone in the house for approximately 8 1/2 hours daily. Should we go back to crating him? He is a large Yorkie weighing 18lbs+ His diet is a combination dried food with boiled chicken and rice. He also gets a few treats. We have cut back on the treats recently as he is a little overweight. Could that be the problem? He has taken to hiding under the bed when we come home so he knows he has done something wrong. Thank you so much for any help you can give us! Desperate

Answer
I would definitely go back to crating him.  There is no reason why a crate should not be used throughout the life of a dog.  Think of it as a playpen for a toddler.

As far as him hiding under the bed because he knows he's done something wrong, that isn't exactly the case.  To him, pooping (in the house, outside, wherever) is a normal part of life.  To him there isn't anything "wrong" with it.  What he DOES know is that you get very upset when you find the poop, and it's your voice and body language that he's reacting to.

Hopefully the websites below will provide some help:


http://www.billfoundation.org/html/modifying_behavior.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090611065839.htm
http://www.hsmo.org/m_obedience/documents/CanineHousesoilingProblems.pdf
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/clean-stains.pdf
http://www.hsmo.org/m_obedience/behavior/dogcrate.html