Hello!
I have a 8 month old English Bulldog named Rufus, who is 45 pounds of adorable. He has been crate trained since a week after we received him, at 8 weeks old.
The first week he was still very small he would have his occasional accidents in the home since he was still learning the ropes.
Now, after nearly 6 months of perfection, he has recently taken up relieving himself in our two small boys bedroom, my husband and my bedroom and in his crate (where he then proceeds to roll in it).
He is fed twice a day, has a very large fenced in yard to his disposal and is only crated at night when we are sleeping. We take Rufus on two walks a day where he goes to the bathroom, and he has his bathroom area in the backyard that he uses.
This last 3 week he has been going to the bathroom in the home (containing it to only the three areas mentioned before) as well as his usual outside bathroom breaks. I have upped his walks and have let him out much more, but he will hold it and then go to the bathroom inside. And when he goes in his crate he will roll around in it so I have to dragged a poo covered dog through the house to bathe him.
I am not sure how I should break him of using the bedrooms and his crate as a bathroom. Any help is gladly appreciated.

[german sheep]

Hi RufusnGeorge,

the first thing you should do is: let your dog be checked from your vet.
Maybe it has to do with an organic disease.

If he is checked and everything is fine, then reduce his space around and his walks outside. No more free time out in the back yard. A dog who has a lot of things must controll everything. The result is: he has no time to do his business when he should do it and does it, when and where he knows no danger is awaiting him --> bathroom and crate.

It is your mission to give him safety and a feeling of security. And then he will do as he is told.

With six months your dog is in a phase in which he has to find his position in the pack and to check out who is the pack leader. He can not find a hierarchy and a leader so his opportunity has come to lead himself and not to orientate on his owner.

This situation makes stress and pooing everywhere is the symptom of this.

LG
gs

[Lara's mom]

My border collie X went through a similar thing when she was about seven months old. She once went so far as to squat and pee on the carpet right in front of us!!! Prior to this, her toilet habits were excellent. We put it down to "canine teenage rebellion." It only lasted a couple of weeks and then she went right back to asking to be let out and doing her "business" in the appropriate place.

Hopefully, it will be the same for your dog.