the closet

Experienced and professional animal trainer provide their insights in answering this question :
A. This is not normal behavior, and needs to be checked by a vet. Your dog could be feeling sick, or could be in pain, or both. He might have injured himself in some way. If it were my dog, I would bring him to an emergency vet clinic today. If that is not possible, try to get him to your regular vet tomorrow.

How to Identify Common Pet Problems ?

Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced pet care professionals :

Reasons why your dog may be defecating in his crate relate to behavioral issues, physical limitations, or medical reasons that can cause your dog to be unable to hold his bowels until he is let out of his crate. Often, conditions that cause diarrhea or a loss of bowel control can result in crate soiling.
Many dogs love their crates.It resembles a den they would seek out/build if they didn`t have cozy houses to live in. It`s probably the only place in the house that is truly theirs, where they can be undisturbed and feel safe.
If your dog keeps wanting to go in the crate, then he is most likely afraid of coming out in fear of threat or abuse. Sadly, this behavior is frequently observed in dogs who have suffered (or currently suffer) from abuse – regardless of the magnitude.
In many cases, however, pooping at night could be related to a medical issue, and your dog could be in pain. If it is exclusively a night-time issue, and your dog is not old and spends plenty of time outdoors, I would recommend visiting your vet immediately to determine whether the behavior has a medical cause.
Adult dogs should poop one to three times a day, though puppies poop more often (up to five times a day or more), and senior dogs may poop once a day.
How long is it okay to leave a dog in a crate? Adult dogs shouldn`t be left in crates for more than 6-8 hours. Puppies of 17 weeks and older can handle up to 4 or 5 hours in a crate at a time. Leaving a dog home alone in a crate longer than this can hurt their mental and physical health.
Dogs crated for too long, too, might learn to associate the kennel with thirst or soiled bedding. Maybe there`s a cold draft. Sometimes another animal or a child bullied the dog in the crate. Maybe you, or a previous owner, used the crate as punishment, and now the kennel = angry human in your dog`s mind.
The symptoms of depression will vary depending on the individual dog and the severity of the problem. There are some key things to look out for, however, including changes in body language during their interactions with people and other pets, decreased appetite, and lethargic behavior.
The idea is to praise gently and quietly WHILE THE DOG IS IN THE CRATE and ignore him for a few minutes when he comes out. Keep doing this without any negative associations until he`s comfortable in the crate for longer periods of time. Most dogs can be crate trained using this method no matter how old they are.
Fontanos recommends taking the pup out every hour on the hour to the spot where you want the dog to eliminate during the day, for several days. You`ll also want to take away food and water three to four hours before bedtime and give your pup a potty break just before you go to sleep and first thing in the morning.
But a good rule of thumb is that dogs should poop at least once a day. Some may poop up to five times, and others in between. So if your dog poops 3 times a day, that`s fine too. Anything over five, though, could be worth keeping an eye on.
In most cases, healthy dogs without any underlying health conditions can go 48 hours without pooping (and sometimes longer) without any cause for serious concern. There`s no hard and fast rule, but many veterinarians will recommend an exam if your dog goes more than 48 to 72 hours without pooping.
Is There a Best Time to Feed Your Dog? “While there is no best time, with most dogs that eat twice a day, it is best to feed them in the morning as soon as you get up and then again when you get home from work in the afternoon,” says Dr. Sara Ochoa, veterinary consultant for doglab.com who practices in Texas.
Adult dogs that are one year or older should be able to hold their pee in for up to 6-8 hours. However, 8 hours is a bit of a stretch, and ideally, you should not expect your dog to hold their urine for longer than 6 hours.
If your dog keeps pooping in the house, they may have a health issue, or something might have changed in their routine, diet, or home environment that`s causing the accidents. The first step is to rule out a medical reason, which involves making an appointment to see your veterinarian.
Dogs need interaction. Crating a dog for extended periods of time can result in a poorly socialized, aggressive, or hyperactive dog. We believe that Sweden and Finland have passed laws to prevent misuse of the crate and depriving dogs of social interaction, physical activity, and basic needs.
You can usually stop closing your dog into your crate when they are around two years of age. Before then, they are usually more likely to get into trouble. It isn`t until they mature fully that they are able to behave properly when not supervised. This is especially true for larger dogs, who tend to mature later.
The Lincolns believe that prolonged confinement can be damaging – and they say some people lock pet dogs in tiny crates for up to 18–22 hours total per day. Over-crated dogs, they say, can suffer complications from “cage-rage”, to anxiety, fearfulness and depression.
However, dogs can very easily become bored in their kennel. This is especially problematic for dogs that naturally have a high energy level and for dogs that spend very large amounts of time in their kennel. In the best-case scenario, a dog won`t spend too much time in their kennel.
Most dogs bounce back from depression within a few days to a few months with just a little extra TLC, said Ciribassi. “Keep them engaged, do more of the things they like to do, get them a little more exercise, and they should be fine,” he said. And reward them when they show signs of happiness, Beaver said.
Your dog may be isolating himself because of a mental or physical condition, the reason of which could vary. Anxieties and fears are commonly seen in dogs, and can develop due to a number of reasons, such as poor socialization or trauma.
Crating a dog when you leave the house, travel or have company over may cause feelings of guilt, but it is the safest place for your dog to be. Dogs are den dwelling animals that will often curl up and go to sleep when they are comfortable in their crate.
It is not uncommon that dogs that previously did great with crate training suddenly start whining and crying in the crate again. The reasons can be manyfold – from changes in sleep and eating schedule over negative and stressful events to boredom and lack of enrichment.
Most of the time we recommend that your pup be settled for 5 or more minutes before being let out of their crate. The most ideal scenario is that your pup cries for a bit, but settles in under 30 minutes and falls asleep.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

Q. We have a 4 yr old lab-pit mix we raise from 6 weeks.If my husband tries to take hin by the collar and make him go out to pottie he growls.Problem?
ANSWER : A. This is not good behavior. Rather than take him by the collar, call him to come with you. If he’s not good about coming when called, you can work on that. Keeps treats on hand to to entice him out and reward him when he does go potty and he’ll come to look forward to it. Clicker training is another great way to teach a dog all kinds of things, from obedience to tricks.

Have treats on hand that you know he loves, then simply click and treat. He will come to associate the sound with getting a treat. Start putting distance between you so he has to come to you. Call and click and when he comes to you for that treat, treat him and give him lots of praise. Move to hiding somewhere in the house, call and click. When he comes to you reliably inside when you call, click and treat. When this behavior is consistent, move outdoors with a very long leash. Call and click, if he doesn’t respond, give a light tug on the leash. If he takes even a single step toward you, click, treat and lots of praise. Keep doing this until he comes eagerly. Next, try him off-leash in a securely fenced area. Call and click. At this point he should be responding well and coming easily to the call and click. If he does not, go back to the last step he performed reliably and work on that again until he responds well. Eventually, you can start not treating him every time, but still praise him. Gradually lessen the frequency of the treats until he comes just to the click and praise.

Keep training sessions short, ten or fifteen minutes to start, no more than 30 minutes at a time and do it a few times a day. Try not to do it any time he is overly excited so that he can pay attention to you. Always end a training session on a good note, even if it is just getting him to do something he already does well on command. And never, NEVER punish a dog when they come to you, no matter how far they’ve made you chase them, no matter how frustrated and angry you might be. That teaches your dog that coming to you is a bad thing.

Read Full Q/A … : Causes of Limping in Dogs

Q. Are Yorkie Poos alright to be left alone some of the day and are they easily house trained
ANSWER : A. They are not very easily house trained, no. Yorkie’s have small bladders, and tend to drink more than other small breed dogs. Yorkie’s need to be on a very strict pottying schedule. When they’re puppies, they should be brought outside every 30 minutes when they’re out of their crates, and when they are in their crates the “rule of thumb” is one hour per month of age, plus one (until they ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO potty). Crate training is extremely important when it comes to raising a puppy, especially one who has notorious issues with potty training.

I could go over a crate training exercise for you so you can start crate training right away. Crate training is a very SLOW, careful, and positive process. It needs to be handled very delicately to ensure the puppy has a positive experience.

Of course dogs are alright to be left alone some of the day. About as long as the “rule of thumb” allows, and absolutely no longer than 8 hours (as I find that just cruel). Crating ensures dogs safety.

Read Full Q/A … : Shih Tzu Separation Anxiety Issues

Q. One year old English bulldog sitting in his crate all day not wanting to come out. We finally carried him out to potty now he is sitting In the closet
ANSWER : A. This is not normal behavior, and needs to be checked by a vet. Your dog could be feeling sick, or could be in pain, or both. He might have injured himself in some way. If it were my dog, I would bring him to an emergency vet clinic today. If that is not possible, try to get him to your regular vet tomorrow.

Read Full Q/A … : Dog Depression: Causes and Cures

Q. My 3 month puppy eats his own poop and is also biting what can I do to prevent this
ANSWER : A. When it comes to poop eating, you want to consider a few things. First off, what is his diet like? Maybe something is lacking in his diet that is causing him to want to eat his own poop. This is the most common reason why dogs eat THEIR OWN poop. Try a higher quality kibble like Taste of the Wild, Ziwipeak, Orijen.. and try feeding three meals per day, instead of the more common two meals per day. Remember to gradually switch his kibble. Add a little bit of the new kibble and reduce the old kibble very slowly.. little by little every couple of days until the bowl is mostly new kibble! You should also be cleaning up his poops IMMEDIATELY after he does them.. I mean like, you have a bag in your hand, and you are low enough to scoop it up RIGHT when he finished so he doesn’t have a chance to eat his poop.

When it comes to nipping there are a few things you can do. First, you should yelp as soon as the teeth touch your skin, stand up, cross your arms, and ignore the puppy until he is ignoring you. Once he is off doing his own thing, swoop down and calmly reward him by playing with him WITH A TOY so he doesn’t nip your hands. Whenever you pet him, or interact with him, you should always have a toy on-hand so you can give it to him. This toy should be a soft braided rope toy that YOU own. This means, your puppy is never allowed to have this toy on the floor, and your pup can never “win” tug games with this toy. This is YOUR toy that disappears when you’re finished playing, and reappears when you want to play. If you keep this up, in a weeks time, your puppy will be so excited to see that toy, that as soon as you bring it out, he stops nipping you because he wants to play with the toy. Another thing you can do is have two bags of toys. Bag#1 is full of chew toys/soft toys/squeaky toys/etc. After one week, Bag#1 disappears and out comes Bag#2. Bag#2 has the same types of toys as Bag#1, and it only stays out for one week. This keeps the toys feeling like new to your pup!

Read Full Q/A … : Why Dogs Eat Poop – The 5 Primary Causes – Dog Poop Diet

Q. My puppy will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. I’ve had her for a week now, and she still isn’t responding to any training or her name. What can I do?
ANSWER : A. Try clicker training her to come when called. Clicker training is an effective way of training you dog to not only come when called, but can be used to teach a variety of tricks and tasks.

Have treats on hand that you know she loves, then simply click and treat. She will come to associate the sound with getting a treat. Start putting distance between you so she has to come to you. Call and click and when she comes to you for that treat, treat him and give her lots of praise. Move to hiding somewhere in the house, call and click. When she comes to you reliably inside when you call, click and treat. When this behavior is consistent, move outdoors with a very long leash. Call and click, if she doesn’t respond, give a light tug on the leash. If she takes even a single step toward you, click, treat and lots of praise. Keep doing this until she comes eagerly. Next, try her off-leash in a securely fenced area. Call and click. At this point she should be responding well and coming easily to the call and click. If she does not, go back to the last step she performed reliably and work on that again until she responds well. Eventually, you can start not treating her every time, but still praise her. Gradually lessen the frequency of the treats until she comes just to the click and praise.

Keep training sessions short, ten or fifteen minutes to start, no more than 30 minutes at a time and do it a few times a day. Try not to do it any time she is overly excited so that she can pay attention to you. Always end a training session on a good note, even if it is just getting him to do something she already does well on command. And never, NEVER punish a dog when they come to you, no matter how far they’ve made you chase them, no matter how frustrated and angry you might be. That teaches your dog that coming to you is a bad thing.

Read Full Q/A … : How To Teach Your Puppy His Name – Puppy In Training

Q. How can I get my 2 month old puppy kennel trained? Because he barks a lot when he’s in there, to the point I have to take him out
ANSWER : A. First off, make sure he is not barking because he needs to potty or is hungry. Before crating withhold water for 1-2 hours but be sure to leave just a little with him if he will be left there for long during the day. Also let him potty immediately before crating him. Make sure his crate is cozy and comfortable and that he is given proper chew toys and treats. A bully stick and a frozen peanut butter filled kong are good options. Teach him the crate is a positive space by luring him in with high quality yummy treats he doesn’t get otherwise. Cover the crate with a blanket leaving enough room to breathe clearly, walk away without saying anything. You may want to play soft music for him and use some Adaptil dog pheromone spray or diffuser. Each time you let the dog out during whining, it can likely reinforce the whining behavior but again be sure he is not whining because he needs to potty, etc. Start is small increments of having him in there and gradually increase the time. You may want to start feeding all meals in the crate if you haven’t already. This well help create a positive association.

Read Full Q/A … : How can I make my 2 month old Labrador puppy sleep … – Quora

Q. I have a chaweenie she only poops inside when let on carpet and poops and pees at night what can I do
ANSWER : A. I always recommend using a crate. Dogs are naturally comfortable and feel safe when they are in a “cave” or an enclosed space. It may take a couple of nights to get used to the crate (i.e. a couple of barking nights) but once a dog is used to its crate, it becomes a safe place, a territory where they feel protected and dominate and one where they also will not soil. The idea is that when you are not with the dog (during the day, at night) the dog goes into the crate. When you come home, or get up, the dog is let out and immediately goes outside to do its business. This way the dog associates the idea that coming out of the crate and going outside right away is the way to do things. It takes some effort on your part, but I promise it works! And if you leave the door to the crate open while you are home, you’ll notice that your dog will even start going into the crate to lay down on their own. It will become their safe place. Stick with it and good luck! 🙂

Read Full Q/A … : What to Do When Your Cat Poops Outside the Box – Dr. Sophia Yin

Q. How should I introduce my puppy to her crate?
ANSWER : A. A crate is very useful for making sure your dog is safe during the night while you sleep, for traveling, or for when you have guests, amongst other reasons for crate training. It is important that you slowly introduce your puppy to her crate; do not rush her. Using kibble or a small treat as a lure, place the food item inside the crate so that she will go inside. Close the gate gently, not suddenly, since you do not want the puppy to be frightened. You might also include one of the puppy’s comfort toys and a familiar blanket inside the crate. Gradually increase the puppy’s time inside the crate with the gate latched until she feels at ease going into her crate at your command.

Read Full Q/A … : Dog and Puppy Crate Training

joliana smith

My name is Sarah Smith and I am a dog owner, lover, and trainer. I have been working with dogs for over 10 years and have a passion for helping them learn and grow. I am a certified dog trainer and specialize in positive reinforcement methods. I believe that all dogs can learn and that the best way to train them is to build a strong relationship based on trust and respect.