My dog poops in his pet taxi every night, even though we let him outside many times per day including just before we go to bed. Why?
Hi, I hope to provide some assistance to you and your chihuahua.There are a few reasons that dogs may have crate accidents despite getting outside often enough. Sometimes it can be a physical cause--usually if this is the case, there is either blood or mucus in the stool, or it's diarrhea. If any of those things are the case, then you should take your dog and a fecal sample to your veterinarian to get the problem treated and resolved.If the stool is normal, there are a few things that you can try at home to prevent his problem. First of all, if you leave food out all the time, you should change your feeding habits. Offer no food or treats after 6 pm. Typically dogs will defecate within an hour of eating, although in older dogs, sometimes the gut takes a little longer to empty. So if he's eating close to bedtime, that can trigger accidents.Also, a crate should be just large enough for the dog to stand up, turn around, and lay back down. When the crate is larger than that, the dog is far more likely to urinate or defecate in the crate because then the dog can urinate/defecate in one side of the crate and sleep in the other. Dogs naturally want to keep their den or sleeping area clean. If your crate is too large, consider purchasing a smaller crate or blocking off part of the crate to make it smaller.This is a frustrating problem, but I hope that this has been helpful. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions and best of luck with your dog.