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Why does my lab poo and pee in his kennel at night?

He’s a 2 ½ year old lab and sweet as he can be, even when he is his alter ego, Kleenex Destroyer. However, he pees and poops in his kennel at night. The kennel is near my bed, so he isn’t alone. He, unfortunately, after he as no longer a cute puppy, relegated to an outdoor kennel for his first year, not me, former owner. I wonder if he just learned that if you need to go, you just go. I’d like to be able to stop this behavior. I’ve always been told they won’t ‘go’ where they sleep, but he evidently didn’t read the manual! Any help is appreciated. I love him to pieces and I will not relegate him to the outside, nor will I give him away, that’s just not me. I just don’t relish cleaning up poop and pee every morning for the rest of his life.

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Despite that he is a young adult, probably the best way to handle this is to train him as if he was a puppy. That means getting him on a consistent schedule where you feed them at the same times daily & walk after meals and every few hours, and before bedtime (and you may need to offer a quick opportunity for relief overnight) . Initially, this might mean that you walk to a potty spot (not necessarily a long walk) every 4-6 hours and give lots of praise every time dog relieves itself outside. I would suspect that this will be remedied/solved by being on a consistent schedule and any nervous anxieties the dog has being calmed. Oh, and use a good enzymatic cleaner on anything soiled. Nature’s Miracle is highly regarded. If you are consistently offering frequent opportunities, first thing in the morning, last thing before bedtime, (maybe once overnight) and throughout the day, and this continues, you might need to visit a vet to make sure there’s no medical issues causing this.

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I would agree with the above answer. He is showing signs that he needs to be taken out at night to go to the bathroom hence why he ends up going in his crate when he’s not taken out. Some dogs learn to make noise by crying or barking to let the owner know they need to go, some don’t.