As way of introduction, I just adopted a one-year-old rat terrier from the local shelter.  OMG he is such at WONDERFUL dog, and I love him to pieces.  Wouldn't trade him for anything (even if he never gets housebroken --but I know he will eventually).

Now for the problem.  I am crate training him.  He is in the crate when I am gone at work.  I come home for supper to check up on him (and to clean up after him, lol).  I have had him for about three weeks now.  As I said, we are working on housebreaking.  He seems to be doing fairly well with the "potty" part, but he still poos in his crate almost every time.  I have tried taking the poo out to where I want him to poo and showing him.  I thought I had the crate too big, so today I shortened it quite a bit (felt like a "bad mom", lol). He has room to turn around, and he has his water dish in there and a chew toy.  He also had some food in there. 

When I came home for supper tonight, he had gone poo in his water!  I have had dogs before, but have never known a dog to do that!. 

I am wondering if at least part of the problem is that he was in the crate for about 15 hours a day when he was at the shelter (he had been there for approximately three weeks, they said).  Maybe he thinks this is where he was supposed to go.  I do not know why he was surrendered, or what his situation was before being surrendered. 

Oh, and he also has a history of eating his own poo. I got something to sprinkle on his food from the vet, and that problem seems to be getting under control now.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks everyone for the great replies, and for the encouragement!  Tracey, the water bottle sounds like a good idea. Think I will try that. 

He is such a SWEET little boy!  I don't know why anyone would EVER turn him in to the pound (but in a way I'm glad they did, that way I could adopt him)

Quote:  He has room to turn around, and he has his water dish in there and a chew toy.  He also had some food in there.

Puppies poop very quickly after 1)eating, 2) sleeping, and 3)playing.  Well-known fact by vets, but sadly not known by many dog owners.  Don't keep food in the crate with the puppy.  Because when he eats, he then must poop (and can't hold it back).  So don't be upset with him for doing what is only natural:  pooping after eating. 

This is called the gastro-colo-rectal response and is VERY strong in puppies.  Enzymes triggered by chewing send signals to the stomach to "get ready for food", the stomach in turn sends nerve signals to the small intestines to also "get ready" for absorption, which in turn tells the large intestine to get ready for a new load of food and to "make room".  The final signal is to the rectum to "release that load."  Don't mean to put it in such vivid, simplistic terms, but that's kinda how a vet explained it to me one time.  Use this fact to your advantage and always walk your puppy after eating, sleeping and playing and he'll learn to poop at very predictable times.  This is why fixed feeding schedules is so important for house-training success.  For my puppies, most have  pooped within 5-6 minutes of eating.  This GCR response weakens with age because adult dogs have usually learned how to "hold it" (if crate trained)  and have their way of asking to go out to do their business. 

I hope you'll spend some time reading other potty training topics here as well as the crate training post-it atop the forum.  Very helpful advice given by members there and it's well worth your time.

My Snoopy, before I got him, was crated 24/7 due to his inability to be housebroken.  What a joke that was.  The first night I got him home from the shelter, in the middle of the night, he went to my bedroom door as if to tell me he had to potty - and I let him out and he went poo - he actually had diarrhea poor little boy!!

With that being said, because the only way Snoopy was able to relieve himself was in his crate.  I've had him for over 5 years now and he still will pee in his crate, no matter what I do to try to stop it.  I have to put pee pee pads outside the front grill and over the sides because he will pee OUT of the metal grills!  LOL... not too stupid, is he??

He's actually been very good about not pooing in his crate.  I have gotten him on a routine - I feed him at the same time every day.  I only give him a treat in the morning and feed him at night because I found when I fed him during the day, he tended to poop in the crate.  So I figured, if I feed him at night, he'll poo in the morning and if he doesn't eat anything during the day, he won't have to poop!  And it's worked!  I MAKE SURE he poops before I leave work in the morning.  I stand there like the Poop Nazi - and say to him - Go Poopie!!  Go Poopie!!  And eventually he does.

Otherwise, when I'm home, he's very housebroken with no accidents.  Snoopers is a good boy!

I hope this helps!!

Thank you all for the great advice and the prompt responses! 

Well, I didn't feed him his morning meal (had been feeding him twice a day), so he hasn't eaten since last night (except for two or three small treats, which I am using to train him).  I also didn't put any food in his crate with him.  I will feed him tonight when I get home, then take him out just before bedtime.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

When I went home for supper tonight (I work evenings), he had gone poo in his crate, but it was just a little bit.  So I think we are making some progress. . 

You're right, they are such SMART little buggers.