[nitrojunkie84]

My girlfriend and i have a 6 month old pug. He is potty trained but everytime we leave we take him outside and he doesn't go potty. We leave for only 30 minutes and we come back and he poops in his crate. We tried putting him in the bathroom to see if that would help but the samething happens. My girlfriend and i would love for somebody to help us or if you know someone who can let us know.

[sydney-the-cattle-dog]

Where does he normally go poo? Outside? Or does he always seem to save up for the crate when you leave?

I'm just wondering if he made a negative association to pooing in front of you along the way and now only feels comfortable doing it when you are gone. Or another possibility is that he is stressed when you leave and this causes him to poo in the crate.

I guess more info into his daily routine and schedule might help figure this out.

[nitrojunkie84]

we go outside with him everytime and he pees and poops for us. We were thinking it was seperation anxiety. During the week the routine we have for him is i wake up take him outside to potty and he normally pees for me. Then i wait to see if he has to poop if not i bring him in and get ready for work. Then i put him in the crate and leave for work. Then my girlfriend lets him out about an hour later and he sometimes goes poop for her. Then she leave for work. Then we have my mom stop by about 3 or 4 hours after my girlfriend leaves and He always pees for my mom but sometimes he poops and sometimes he doesn't. Normally he is good with not pooping in the cage when we are at work. It if we come home and have to go to the store. Thats when we have the biggest problem with him.

[AmyB]

What size crate is he in? You may need to go smaller, he should only be able to turn around and lay down comfortably.

[Dakota Spirit]

-nods at Amy B-

Often if the crate is too big puppies will separate it into two parts. One to sleep in and one to use as a toilet.

If you don't want to buy a brand new smaller crate then you can always try finding something to use as a temporary partition, thereby creating a smaller space for the pup to stay in until he is bigger. Just be careful and make sure it is secure so the pup can't push through and/or knock it over on himself.

[FilleBelle]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the analysis of separation anxiety doesn't quite seem to fit if he's okay while you're at work, but not when you leave again to go to the grocery store.

I'm wondering if you're just leaving to run your errands right when his schedule dictates he needs to relieve himself. At six months, he could need to go out more often than he is getting to. You've tried taking him out to go to the bathroom right before you leave to do your shopping?