Dog keeps pottying in kennel

Question
7 weeks ago I adopted a 1 1/2 yr old rescue dog. He's a little 6 lb chihuahua/terrier mix, and cute as a button. I was told of no prior housetraining issues.  He has no problem relieving himself on a walk. He must have been trained that way. But I do not always have the time to walk him three times a day, although 3 days when I did, he did fineinside the house. Anyway, he just doesn't seem to know what to do in the back yard. Half the yard is a pool area, which I have tried walking around because there are plants, and I was trying to simulate a "walk" The first day or two, he did pee on a couple of shrubs, but hasn't since a few weeks ago. He just want to lie down or dig. He seems confused why we keep going around and around the pool so he stops. Then I take him over to the grassy side which has plants around the perimeter. He has found a spot where he seems to poop, but he will only do that if I leave him outside, and he takes a break between jumping and barking at the door to go poop real fast. I'd say, he's done this about 6 times since I have had him. I've never really seen him pee, either. When he takes a break from jumping at the door, I have also seen him maybe a couple of times run and pee real fast, but I've also only seen this a few times. When I was raking up pine needles a few weeks ago, he was interested in the pile of needles, and peed on it a couple of times, so I have kept it there, and take him over there each time I take him out, telling him to go potty. He is not interested anymore, and just looks at me. So I have tried walking him back and forth the small yard area, but he hesitates and looks confused as to why I won't let him lie down or sit. I really don't get why he won't go out there. I  take him out all the times I'm supposed to....when he first wakes me up (he used to sleep on the bed and did well, except for a couple of times he escaped while I was sleeping and pooped or peed on a rug in another room), before I leave to work at 7:15, when I come home for lunch at 12:15, when I get home from work at 6, and a couple more times before I go to bed. Doesn't go ANY of those times. Wondering why I even bother. So I give in and take him for a walk and he does his thing like clockwork...happy as could be.

I tried the crating. Bought a kennel, but he knows how to pee and poop outside the bars. So I usually have been leaving him in the upstairs of the house because it is tiled, and he likes to sleep on the sofa. I keep a gate at the top of the stairs with a rug under it. That is where he goes every day. Rug or not. You can tell he's been in a kennel because he goes back and forth in front of the gate tracking feces and or urine with him. So I have to wash his feet every night. Found out a couple weeks ago that he had a UTI, so we've fixed that with medication, and it's all gone. So I thought he would be better. I have a plastic crate which he doesn't like, but I'm trying to use it again. It's been nice in the mornings, so I will leave him outside until lunch, and then bring him in while I'm home, but I can't tell if he pottied or not. Then I will leave him in the crate in the afternoon. He did pretty good. No mistakes in the crate with his rug. But when I get home at 6 and take him out he just lies there. I know he needs to go. So I try the walking around the yard and pool routine, and nothing. So I bring him in and feed him, and he does ok just lying next to me on the couch. I'll take him out a couple of times, and nothing. So I have to resort to a walk for him to go. I don't like to walk in the dark at night and in the mornings, so I would love for him to learn to use the backyard. I decided to cut off the walks for awhile, so he will learn that if he is going to have to go, it will have to be out back. I put him in the crate the last couple of nights,(which he hates)and taking him outside before I do, and....nothing. He got very anxious about 9 pm last night and peed on his rug in the crate so I took it out. He got restless at about 2:45 in the morning, and I took him out, and nothing. Waited about 5-10 minutes. If I sit or stand, he just lies down. Doesn't he do enough of that most of the day? Geez! Then I took him out again when I woke up at 5:45...and nothing, so I left him out there, and let him eat his food. It's a little chilly, so I put his sweater on him, and he barked and jumped most of the time I was showering, but since I don't want the neighbors to kill me, and I want to spend some time with my dog, I brought him in and his sweater was wet with pee, so Yeah...he went. He laid on my bed while I finished getting ready for work, and then put him in the crate and went to work. When I came home today at lunch, the crate was filled with poop and pee and he stinks and is covered in it. Took everything outside and washed out the crate, but he STINKS. Bath when I get home!

I am at wits end with this. I have done everything that I've been told to and read about, and don't know what else to do. Trainers want from $1 thousand and higher to train. I can't really afford it. My sister's view is just to walk him three times a day. She said he's happy and not as much cleanup. But she doesn't have to get up in the early morning and walk him. And giving in like that won't help him to learn to use the back yard for the future, or learn to hold it. I heard about your pen idea, but he can jump almost three feet high. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten over the baby gate yet. I am to the point where I and considering returning him, but that would break my heart, and he will just get more messed up being put back in the system, and that's not fair to him. Or I can accept a life of three walks a day, two of which are in the dark when I am afraid. I can't go to lunch any more with friends, I can't sleep past 5:30 on the weekends (and I don't mind getting up and taking him out, but he doesn't do anything!)and I can't go out of town, and I can't meet anyone after work for dinner. I know I took on a responsibility when I adopted a dog. I just wanted a companion. I thought with and older dog, I would not be having to go through this. I praise him on his walks, I don't know what else to do. SERIOUSLY! And need some help or new ideas, because everything else has not worked. HELP!?

Answer
Well,if he isn't fixed getting him done may help

But it also seem like he just wants to go in 'fresh' areas where he can't smell himself(including inside if you have cleaned up the smell)

So something that may help will be to use a small amount of some type of deorderizer and just lightly spray it around(look for a pet friendly product some are made for pets)the yard,esp in places where he hasn't been

If that doesn't work,you'll either have to deal with the walks-or unfortunatly start thinking about returning him,i had a dog many years ago that I had to return,because I couldn't sleep and was afraid my health was going to suffer

Now if it comes to that-it is a very hard thing to do,but sometimes if for the best for the both of you,but don't do anything rash only return the dog if you feel it is ruining your life ect