Popping his crate is an alarming behavior for any dog. How come? Well, a dog’s natural instinct is to keep its den clean, for a domestic dog the crate replaces den. There are many reasons for this behavior, but to pin point one reason, you will have to observe your dog and look for clues.
Like diarrhea can be a symptom, or the crate being too big can confuse your dog. There are many symptoms that can give you and your vet clues that can help diagnose the real cause. Other common causes are:
- Potty training sessions
- Crate being too big for the dog
- Anxiety
- Infections
- Medications (for any purpose)
Behavioral problems, physical boundaries, or medical conditions, all three can play a huge role in crate pooping. To help you understand better here is an elaboration of the above-mentioned causes.
Potty Training Sessions:
A pup is hard to train, and its hard for him to hold his bladder or stool for long as well. Compared to grown up dogs, puppies need to go to bathroom twice as much. They might even need a couple of breaks in an hour. At maximum, a two-month-old can hold it in for a couple of hours only. The time extends as the puppy grows older, but the progress is slow. Every dog has its own limitations, and you as the owner have to respect and appreciate the fact. The knowledge will help you, help your dog relieve himself and not poop in the crate. You should keep all this is mind while training your dog or puppy.
The crate being too big:
If the crate is too big then the dog has enough space to rest and poop separately, that’s why it’s important to choose a crate that will allow your dog to turn around with ease and lie down with his legs spread, but not big enough for him to have a corner to poop. Dogs have the natural instinct to keep their resting place clean. They do not lay in their mess, so use this information to your advantage, when buying a crate. Once your dog is trained, he will not do so, then you can get any kind of crate with no hassle. If you want to check other stuff about taking your dog outside check here.
Anxiety:
Some dogs can get very anxious when they are parted from their owners, and this can result in pooping in the crate. If that’s the case, this is will happen every time you will leave for work, or grocery shopping or anything where you can’t take your dog. The indications of this behavior are whining, excessive panting and pacing in the crate. The anxiety reaches to a level where he can’t control himself and poop right where he is standing. The fear of being confined in, can bring about this pooping in the crate problem as well.
Infections:
Uncontrollable diarrhea can happen when your dog is suffering from various infections. Infections like Parvovirus or internal parasites or worms (roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, giardia, and coccidia) can cause digestive problems that can lead to chronic diarrhea or bloody diarrhea. It can also cause abdominal pain or vomiting.
Medications:
Certain medications may cause this as well, it’s different for every dog. If you notice the change when your dog takes a certain drug, or if he takes a certain drug and this occurs, observe and eliminate the drug as a cause. If it proves that this has happened as a result of a certain drug then ask your vet for an alternate that may suit your dog.
Conclusion:
Knowing the cause will help you eliminate the problem for good. The reward will be a well trained docile dog.
