Puppy who was doing great *just* pooped in his crate and peed in the house, I'm very concerned...

[grisandole]

We have a 10 week old puppy, boxer/akita/husky/lab mix. Got from a friend who had an accidental litter. Parents are very smart and well cared for dogs. Puppies were all healthy. We got him at 6 weeks and started with the crate and "umbilical" cord/leash training immediately. He is very smart and overall, a great dog. We take him out often, and he is either in his crate or on a short leash, never unattended. He gets lots of praise for going potty outside and know the routine and has an area. Great! He has had a few accidents that were not his fault (ie, on the leash but we weren't looking and he went). We just cleaned it up. The past few days, however, if he started to show signs of going or tried to go while in the house and on the leash, I would say "ah, ah" in a stern voice, pick him up, take him outside, tell him to go, and praise him when he went. So, no punishment, but also just letting him know that it isn't okay to go in the house. He has never gone in his crate. 

Tonight, he peed outside. Went right back in, fed him dinner. He was on the leash and about five minutes later, squatted to pee and I said "ah ah", picked him up, took him out, and he finished out there. Lots of praise. Went back in. Took him outside about 30 minutes later, he pooped. Lots of praise. Went back in and about ten minutes later I put him in his crate so I could check the computer. A few minutes after he was in there, I smelled something and there was fresh poop. I was RIGHT there, he did not whine or bark or make any indication he needed to go out. This really concerns me as he has never done that before and he didn't even mind that it was there...no whining barking, nothing; I thought the whole premise of crate training was that they don't soil where they eat and sleep. That, in combination with him trying to pee in the house, has me worried that he might be a problem to housetrain. If he doesn't mind filth in his crate, how do I train him? I know that he is young, but he is so smart and he seems to "get" everything except for this. Is it normal for a puppy to go in their crate if they don't "need" to? I mean, obviously he had to go because he did, but it wasn't because he wasn't let out soon enough, he just went! I've never had a dog that soiled a crate unless it was my fault (not making to them in time to let them out). So I don't know if this is normal and all my past dogs over the past 20 years were exceptions, lol. Help and advice, please!

[34me]

How big is his crate? I have an 8 year old black lab/ golden retriever and when he was a pup if his crate was too big he would potty in it. We couldn't buy his adult size until he was adult sized.

To this day the only way he indicates he needs to go out is to go to the door. He only woods 1 x each on t and F when the milk man comes.

[Mirzam]

10 weeks is still very young, so you are likely to get some accidents. I concur with the above poster, how big is his crate? If you have one with a partition, then you might want to make it smaller. It should be just big enough for him to turn around in. The other thought I had is does he have tummy "bug"? My dog went in his crate at a similar age, but it was because he was adjusting to a raw diet and I was giving him dried liver treats that proved too much for his system.

He will train, give him time, many dogs aren't really reliable for several months.

[Happygal]

10 weeks is a baby. They can be smart, but they will still have accidents...it's not always an issue of intelligence, but rather their control of bodily functions. Was the poop in his crate normal consistency? I'm wondering, like Mirzam, if his stomach was upset. And yes to making sure his crate is the right size--he should just be able to stand up and turn around. I gave my girl a bit more room b/c she likes to strrrreeetch out.

You are doing great work with him. It's going to work out just fine! Are you using something like Nature's Miracle to clean up the accidents?

For future reference, 6 weeks is normally considered too young to leave their litter. 8 weeks, for many reasons, is the perfect age for them to go to new homes. I know two weeks probably doesn't sound like a big difference, but so much happens with their development during that time.

[grisandole]

Thanks everyone! His crate is the right size, not too big at all. His stomach seemed fine that day. He was okay since then, no more going in the crate and doing great with potty training overall until last night and today. Last night, dh took him out and the puppy would pee...wouldn't poop. Dh repeated this twice, about a half hour apart. The last time, dog peed....wouldn't poop..just played, sat down, etc, and dh brought him in and the dog IMMEDIATELY pooped on the floor.

Today, I let him out of the crate, took him outside. He peed, played for a while, we came back in, back in the crate, and twenty minutes later he peed in it, I was right there and saw/heard him.

So what it seems like to me, and this is where I need advice, is that is becoming a sort of behavior issue, I don't think that these are true accidents; Normally he can be in his crate for about two hours and he is fine, even if he had water right before. In this case, he didn't even have any water before he went in. And with the poop, he had plenty of time and opportunity to go outside and didn't. I'm going to go crazy. He is 12 weeks now and no more reliable. I understand accidents, like if we don't let him out in time, or he is playing in the house and doesn't want to stop and go outside (which hasn't happened yet). But to just pee in the crate and poop in the house.....what am I doing wrong?