puppy training in cage

Question
My parents have just got a Shihtzu puppy.  He is about 10 weeks old.  They have had him for 2 weeks now and they are trying to train him in a crate bed.  He has cried every night, most of the night.  Actually, that part is getting better.  The big problem in that he is constantly pooping in his bed.  It is like he is doing it for spite.  Even when you put him in the cage for 1 hour and he has already been out he still poops in the bed.  How do we break him of this?

Answer
The crying may be easier to fix than the bowel movements.  Leave a little light on, and a radio tuned to a talk station may help.  I have had very good luck with just laying down in front of the crate like I was going to go to sleep.  talk soothingly to it and maybe sing.  I have lost count of how many Labs this has worked on, and last Saturday night it worked fine on the second Shepherd I tried it with.  After a few minutes, the puppy sees it isn't being abandoned, and relaxes and goes to sleep.  Once it is asleep, you can go to bed too.

When you take him out before going to bed, don't let him just stand around.  Walk him around and stimulate his body to eliminate.  Praise him for it.  To defeat his protest, put a rack in the bottom of the crate.  You can buy them where they sell crates, or make one out of a piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving.  You might try the wood shavings bedding pet stores sell too.  Make things easier for you until he learns that it isn't working and he may as well keep his crate clean.  

Having a good pack structure reduces many problems.  The 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. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/  A young, male Shihtzu can take himself very seriously.  If you don't too, he will end up running the household.  He is too young to go to obedience class, but a good age to learn obedience.  Keep the sessions short, a few repetitions at a time.  In a couple of months, he will be the nicest little dog anybody has ever seen.