Accidents in his crate every morning

[starshaker]

My dog is driving me nuts right now (im stressed about other stuff and this is making it worse). Every morning this week i have come down to poo in his crate. Hes a 10 month old cocker spaniel and this is a new thing. I take him out at 11 or 12pm then im up at 6am to take him out again. He gets out plenty during the day and is fed first thing then at 4pm. It is stressing me out :(

[Bowlersarm]

Would it be worth trying him out of the crate now and seeing how that goes?

[starshaker]

I have and he doesnt settle, he just runs around and barks and chases the cats and is a general pain in the ass

[Bowlersarm]

Ah, that's no good then. Mine did this for a while but grew out of it. At only ten months i suppose his system is still immature. The only thing I can think of is to feed him even earlier as if there is nothing in him, then there is nothing to come out.

[Booboostoo]

Feed him earlier or drop the second feed altogether (you would be dropping it at a year old anyway so you're not too far off that). Alternatively can you bear to get up between 11 and 6 to give him another chance to go to the toilet?

If you can try not to stress about it too much. No one enjoys cleaning shit, but in the scheme of things dogs will have accidents and may go though toilet training regression periods. The more calm you are about it the sooner the dog will get over it. Is it possible that the other stuff that's stressing you is the real source of the problem and this is just tipping you over the edge? Can you take off the pressure from some of the other issues?

[starshaker]

If he keeps it up ill be selling him to tesco for hot dogs (im kidding obviously). He should be able to go from 11-6 without messing. Might rearrange my kitchen and shut him in there. Last time i did that he ate my cookery books so i need to find a new place for them

[Lilcamper]

What size crate is he in?

[starshaker]

Yeah i know its the other stuff thats causing my main stress but dealing with shit every morning seems like a much bigger deal than it is. I have no way or reducing the other stress. It will probably get worse before it gets better

[Booboostoo]

I'll add my horse to sweeten that Tesco deal! ;)

But seriously, can you just clean it up and forget about it? Put some kind of flooring on the crate that is easy to clean up and just add it to the morning's routine. Before you think I am mental we had a fecally incontinent GSD (big poos!) for over a year (although that was as a result of a medical problem he could not help) and you do get used to these things. Between him, the baby, the horses and the cat litter there was a significant amount of poo in my life!

[MadAboutHotChoc]

Feed him inside his crate - they don't like messing where they eat.

I would go back to basics with toilet training i.e regular trips out, stay out with him, rewards and praise when he performs etc.

[starshaker]

I have only got over my twins spreading shit on the walls, the cat who refuses to shit in the litter tray (choosing to do it right next to it) and now the dog. If this is going to be a regular occurance then im gonna start sleeping longer because at the moment im not getting much because i am trying to avoid waking up to shit every morning

[omletta]

Have you considered making his crate a bit smaller with a divider? It's unusual for them to soil their sleeping area, but if the crate is bigger than necessary its logical to poop at one end.

[FragileTitanium]

I feel my puppy her last feed at 2.30pm and then a tiny snack at 3pm (school run). Take her out to do a poo and wee at 10.30pm and then again at 6am. She stopped doing poos in her crate - thank god.

It is stressful isn't it. You can't underestimate lack of sleep for making everything much, much worse. It sounds like you need a good few hours of sleep in an afternoon. Do you have anyone who could take over from you one afternoon/evening on the weekend. My husband does this and I find not having to deal with everything just one afternoon/evening gives me a whole new perspective on life.

Best of luck.

[starshaker]

Nope just me and the kids are too young. His crate is 30" i think so its big enough for him to turn around and lie down in. I think he is just going through a rebellious teenage phase. i hope so anyway