Help!!

Hi folks.
My puppy diesel is now 1 year old. We are having a lot of trouble toilet training him. When we are in the house he is fine there is never any accidents at all but once we leave the house and put him in the cage and be gone for only an hour or 2 we return to a soiled cage almost every time and most of the time it is a stool in his bedding the cage is large enough that he could perform at the side of his bed but insists on soiling his bed which I find very strange behaviour for a dog. We ensure he has been out to do his business before we leave. We have done everything in the books to try correct this but nothing works. We have persevered for months on end to get this sorted but after 10 months and still no light at the end of the tunnel my oh is at her wits end and is starting to give up on him. She is trying to sort out a new owner for him as she thinks this might be for the best now which I can't blame her for. But I don't want to give up on him just yet if anyone has any ideas I am more than willing to listen. Cheers S.

Oh dear, I think your diesel is associating the cage with negative behaviour. Do you leave the cage open and provide a cover over it so that he associates it as HIS den ?

I think you need to try and make the cage a positive experience so that he's happy in his Den when your out. Problem is, this will take some time to correct. Is your OH willing to give it the time needed ?

How do you clean up after him? If you use disinfectant this won't be any good because Deisel will still be able to smell where he has defecated. I used a product I bought from Wilko (can't remember the name) but you spray this on the area (after you have cleaned up, of course!) and wipe with a cloth. This gets rid of the smell that Diesel may associate with his toilet. Do not tell him off either. I just cleaned up after Meg and didn't say anything when she did poop in her crate. His crate should only just be big enough for him to turn around in and this could be part of the problem. As Ian says, he should be associating his crate as a safe place where he can come and go. Does he suffer from separation anxiety? It could be that he is doing this due to be worried when you are out of the house.

It does sound like it could be sepearation activity. He is certainly not doing it to be naughty or annoy or and you OH, there will be a reason. So is he shut in the crate when you are out? Could you try leaving the crate door open and see what happend then?

how many walks is he getting and how long for per day?