1 year old lap pooping in crate at night

Question
I have one year old lab who has been sleeping in a crate at night since we first got him about a year ago.  Nothing has changed in his diet nor the feeing times.  I have been out of town for a few weeks now and my wife is home taking care of him.  He has never done this before, but since I've been gone my Lab has pooped in his crate every night around 4am.  I'm just trying to get some answers here:  My wife is due to have another baby and she is really having a hard time with cleaning up and taking care of my dog.  Is my dog depressed, is the crate not getting cleaned enough, is he sick, I'm just lost as to what to do?  Please help...

Answer
I would have the vet check him.  However, I am afraid it may be a reaction to you being gone and her being pregnant.  Morning sickness and cleaning up after dogs doesn't work.  It could be stress, or just being more active.  

You could try moving up his feeding time and more exercise on his last trip out to stimulate bowel movements.  Good leadership helps too.  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.