pooping in kennel!

Question
we have a 7 month old jack russel/black lab/maybe a lil pit bull mix that we got from stray rescue.  he was in stray rescue for 3 months, then he was adopted by another family, who returned him a month later.  we adopted him at 6 months.  
we started crate training him immediately.  he did ok, some potty accidents but we were confusing him by leaving pee-pads in the crate.  we have since stopped with the pee pads and upped our rewarding him for going out side and it seemed to be working.  until 2 days ago...
we first realized a problem after we kept him out of our room for some 'intimate time.'  we came out of the room to 3 piles of poop 7 ft from the door.  later that night we kenneled him as usual and he whined and whined as usual and around 5 am i was awake and decided to take him out.  our sassy puppy had pooped ALL OVER the perimeter of his crate.  to add insult to injury, he had lifted his leg to urinate from the inside of the crate to the ground OUTSIDE the crate.  (yeah, he's very smart, too smart).  i had read that you shouldn't let a dog see you clean up his mess in an instance like that so i put him in our bedroom and cleaned up with disinfecting wipes.  after i was done i put him back in the crate til we woke up and there were no more 'accidents.'  the next day he was pretty rowdy but all in all pretty good.  i had noticed when i took him out to go he never went #2.  i came home from work around 2am and my boyfriend had put him in the crate already.  there had been no accidents at that time so i went to sleep.  he did his usual whining but stopped not long after and i was pleased.  we next heard him whine around 5:30am.  he will typically whine periodically through the night but only for a moment and then be quiet.  this time it was very loud and constant so my boyfriend got up to see if the dog needed to go out...and then we smelled it.  our dog had not only pooped in his crate...he had smeared the feces ALL OVER the crate floor.  this is his crate with food and water in it!  i haven't heard of this happening in any books or anything!  it was in his paws and on his coat...just everywhere!  i don't know what we can do.  
it really seems like he's doing this out of spite b/c we're excluding him from our sleeping.  he loves to sleep in between us, but i can't live the rest of my life with a dog btwn me and my boyfriend in bed.  are we not exercising him enough?  is his crate too big?  is his crate too small?  does he just hate us?  does he loves us so much he just can't bear it so he gets diarrhea all over his own kennel?  i know for sure we give him ample opportunities to relieve himself outdoors, but i feel like that's all i know anymore.  we've had him for over a month now and we're losing our minds!  help PLEASE!

Answer
Hi Melanie,

These are the cases I enjoy. You've obviously researched your subject and have done all the major things right but have neglected a few small details that should make all the difference.

1. You're right about the pads. Forgetabouttit. Dogs like things in black and white. Either pee pads or outside.

2. Your major problem is the size of your crate. You don't have a crate you have a condo with a kitchen and (in your dog's mind) bathroom in the rear. Either get a MUCH smaller crate or put in a divider so that your dog barely has room to crouch and turn around. Don't put food in his crate. Maybe a toy but the crate is not for eating or drinking. This is the major reason for your dog's misbehavior.

3. Dogs are not like humans which is why I love them so much. They have no hidden agenda to "get even" or make you miserable. They simply do what you tell them. The problem when they misbehave is because we as humans don't understand their language and are telling them the wrong things.

4. Sometimes it gets a little boring answering all these doggie questions. Maybe, could you tell me in a little bit greater detail about your "intimate time"? (JUST JOKING!)

Anyway Melanie, try getting your dog a smaller cage and I think you'll be amazed at what a difference that makes.

Good Luck!
Sandy
www.perfectdogtraining.com