Adult "house trained" Dog Using Bathroom While In Crate

Question

Our dog uses the bathroom while in the crate. Sunday it was pretty bad, as he was walked around 8 AM, and then was taken out to go to the bathroom at 10 AM. He was then put in the crate. We arrived home at noon to find that he had urinated in the crate.

He often also poops in the crate when left there for a short time.

This is a dog that is house broken, and pretty well trained. He was a rescue dog and knew a bunch of tricks when we got him from the pound. There was a long time he was very good about being house broken, just an occasional accident here and there.

With his last checkup he had no issues, except a bad back, which has been an ongoing problem. He is a fixed male papillon at 9 years in age. I think he is a bit of a mix as he is a bit bigger and looks a bit different then the standard papillon.

My wife is his favorite person and he is not allowed on the bed. However, the last time he was left out of the crate when we were not home he peed on her side of the bed.

It just seems very odd that a dog would use the rest room in their crate after such a short time.

I would also say that this dog is clearly smart enough to use his various waste products to express his unlike of people and other animals.

Answer 1

Try crating the dog at night, until she becomes comfortable with it. She is likely to be upset about it for a few days (or a couple of weeks). Once she stops being upset be being crated, the crate will be her den, and she will be less likely to soil it when left alone.

Answer 2

More than likely you dog has separation anxiety. The are several causes for it and several cures. One of which can be cured with medicine. Others include having company with another pet. At first talk to your vet about as many symptoms as the pet has. If the symptoms are different when you do different things make sure you tell your vet that. The time it take is not the same with each dog. And if you are unlucky, it may never change no matter what you do. There is no generic fix for the problem.