peeing/pooping in crate

Question
QUESTION: I adopted an 11 month old Catahoula male a month ago and he has recently started to pee and poop in his crate.  This was not an issue for the first several weeks but I have been cleaning his crate when I return from work and every morning.  Help!

ANSWER: How long is he being crated? Its possible he needs to be let out more often. It's also possible that he's developing anxiety about being crated. If you can set up a video camera while you are gone, it could be informative about whether or not he seems restless or anxious while you are gone. It may work to confine him in a larger but safe area, and at least that way if he does have an accident, he's not stuck laying in it until you come home or wake up. If he doesn't appear to be anxious in his crate, perhaps you could have someone let him out at lunch time, and set your alarm so he's not in it as long at night. Sandy Case BFA, MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com

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QUESTION: He's been crated several months as far as I know.  I've only had him for three weeks at this point and before he came to our house, he was in a foster home with 8 other dogs where he was kept in his crate a great deal.

I think that he is getting out enough, because for the first two weeks he didn't have a problem waiting 7-9 hours.  I am wondering how changing his diet may be affecting his need to go #2, but would that affect his need to urinate as well?

Answer
I'm sorry I wasn't clear. In asking "how long is he crated" I meant how many hours at a time? What percentage of the day is he kept crated?  If he is crated all day when you are at work (7-9 hours) and then again at night, that's a lot of time. Anxiety can result from being crated too much, and sometimes dogs eliminate because they are anxious. And once they learn that, it can be a very hard habit to break. Crates are useful housebreaking tools because dogs generally don't want to eliminate where they sleep. Once the dog loses that inhibition, a lot of the reason for crating is no longer useful (they can, of course, keep the dog from being distructive around the house.) You may need to go to a different sort of confinement, or arrange for him to have more time to move around and stretch his legs (hire a dogwalker to let him out when you can't, doggie daycare, etc. He probably needs more exercise and more mental stimulation. He shouldn't be expected to hold it during the day more than 4-5 hours until this problem is solved. And I'd get him out at night as well. I notice you are feeding regular meals, and that's a good thing. It also wouldn't hurt to have him vet checked to make sure that there's not a physical element to the problem. Sandy in OK BFA MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com