I thought dogs were meant to not mess in their crate!?

[Mumma2Ro]

Hello
we’ve got a 9 week old Labrador. She’s amazing and we are so in love with her.
but she keeps pooping in her crate!! A bit more context, it’s only been when she has been in her crate with the door shut. So either over night or when I’ve been on the school run.
I thought the whole idea of the crate was that it was their safe space and they don’t mess in there!?
never any wees just poos.
Her Poos are very soft atm while we are transitioning her from raw food diet to kibble. Could this be why! Is she struggling to hold it. But it doesn’t happen any other time, all the rest of her poos are done in the garden. It’s 1.30am and I am yet again putting wash on 😩😩
sorry for the rant. Any advice please.
just now I went down as soon as she started crying, I never leave her crying in there.

tabulahrasa

“But you didn’t do it by the book, neither did the poster you quoted, ever single reputable guide to crate training will say you do it at the pace of the dog, moving forward only when it is ready to. (As in I’m sure if you look hard enough you’ll find some dodgy advice)”

The pace of our dog was that she hated it. She settled in our bedroom almost immediately. Within two nights, she slept soundly. I don’t care what “the book” says. Crates (cages) are cruel.

One of mine is muzzle trained, because he has to be muzzled at the vets, if I take it out he’ll run over excitedly and stick his nose in it to get his treat and wear it quite happily.

I can guarantee you that if you just stuck one on your dog with no training she’d hate it.

That doesn’t make muzzles cruel. They’re just something you haven’t trained for because you don’t really need to.

It’s not even a fair comparison because dogs do not like have things on their face, where some dogs will just like a crate pretty much straight off.

Exactly this!

I’ve also muzzle trained my dog for the vets and she happily puts her face in when it’s presented as it’s been done properly.

I think some people are getting snippy as they realise they’ve not understood how to crate train properly and it makes them feel better to insist that they’re cruel.

My dog would be absolutely gutted if her crate disappeared and she has a choice of various beds and sofas. She’ll always choose her crate if she’s really tired and wants peace and quiet to sleep without being disturbed.