[givinguphope]

I have a german rotty that is presently a year and 8 months old. I got her when she was 10 wks old from Germany through a breeder. Since I have had her I can't seem to figure out why she goes in the crate. She doesn't go in the crate everyday. It seems to me that she does it to spite me when she can't have her way.

She is able to hold it all night when she wants to. Example: If I have to go out I will take her outside before I leave. I will watch her pee and poop. I take her back inside and put her in her crate and leave for the store. I come back about an hour or so later and she has taken a dump in the crate and then is laying down in it. This doesn't happen everyday just every now and then but it is a nasty habit I need to break but can't figure out how. I have even had trainers come to my house to help me with no luck. This has been going on since she was a puppy. and it seems like once she does it she continues to go in the crate for a day or so then suddenly she's stops. I have had her checked by the vet and there is nothing medical wrong.

I am at the point of giving up. She is too big, at 90lbs, to be doing this and I can't keep bathing her and cleaning my house. I don't know what else to do.

[blackgavotte]

How much crate time does this dog have? You say you got her at 10 weeks old. Do you work full time and does the dog stay in the crate all day long and then again at night, and then when you go out? Do you have a yard or large enclosure for this dog? We are definitely overusing crates in this part of the world. Dogs are often owned by people who don't really have the time nor facilities they need to keep a dog at least in the minimal way they should, and a few weekend romps just are not enough. If she has been crated as much as all the above, this could be happening because as a puppy she could not hold as long as humans think they should, and she desensitized herself to using the crate, simply because she had no choice. It can also start to happen because of stress, I have seen dogs who literally lost their minds because of living in crates for 16-17 hours of the day, every day of the week..... When the dog is stressed and anxious, naturally the bowels let go more, and she cannot hold it... thus she has to dirty her crate and then lay in it. Believe me, she does not want to do that. A rotti, and any dog for that matter, should have a space to move around in even if its a small run or enclosure, not a crate all the time....

[sheltieluver]

Personally, I am not a firm believer in crates at all - maybe for helping with housebreaking or if the dog like to lie in their on their own as a den for sleeping.
Do you ever use the crate as a form of punishment when she's bad? It should never be used for punishment but rather a "safe haven" for them. Also, when you know you have to be gone for any period of time, make sure she is exercised enough - not just time in the backyard. A dog that young needs the exercise. When she's put back in the crate while you are gone, she should be tired enough to sleep, otherwise give her a Kong or some toy to keep her occupied.