Yorkie popping in her crate...EVERY time!
 

I have a teacup Yorkie that is 1 year and 4!months old. When my husband and I are gone, we put her in a crate. Because the smallest crate we could buy was still too big, we restricted the space so she had just enough room to turn around in it. She would poop and pee in the crate very single time we left her, whether it was 30 minutes or 8 hours while we were at work. We continued to stay consistent with the crate for about a year. But every time we left, I would have a ton of cleaning up to do and have to bath her because she would be laying in her own poo! We decided to try one of those play pen type crates and put a pee pad down. Thinking she would do her business on the pad at one corner and lay in her bed in the other corner, this would be a much better alternative to the crate. Boy, were we wrong! She will pee on the pad, no problem. But pooping is another issue. She never poops on the pad but always on the floor. Again, every time she is in the pen, she poop no matter how long she's been in there or if she just did her business outside before being put in the pen. She is potty trained 100% when we are home. She will ring a little bell we put on the back door and hasn't had an accident in many, many months.

What am I doing wrong?! It is so frustrating (and expensive to use a roll on paper towels every few days scraping poo off the floor) that we can't leave the house for 30 minutes without coming home to a mess! Every post or advice page I've ever read says "they won't potty where they stay" but this isn't the case with my Gracie!

Sounds like she gets nervous being caged when your not home and poops. Jess did that too. I got a medium sized crate, just enough for a big bed and a big pee pad. She stopped going in her bed. She only goes on the pad. She actually sleeps in there at night now..when we go out she is in the mudroom now because she hates the cage when no one is home. (except at night because my daughter is in the room with her)
so try a cage big enough for bed and pad. Put the pad in the back of the cage so she wont step in it when you get home (jess did that a lot too)
also try putting her poop on the pad so she gets it. She may just be afraid to go at all if she usually goes outside but is so wound up she cant help it..

Is there a way you could set aside an area and have booth her crate and a pee pad area. I know I could not hold it for 8 hours heck sometimes I can't hold it for 20 minutes after I have just gone. Buster is like me as well and goes many times a day. I do know I must put out two pads one for pee and one for poop and replace them as they get soiled. He will never poop on a dirty pad. Sometimes he starts out on a pad but he walks as he poops sometimes and walks right off the pad. Good luck and I hope you find a solution.

Our Bella would pee and poop in the small crate too. We finally ended up getting an exercise pen and put her in there with a potty pad. That helped. Then she learned how to get out of the pen. We tried several things to keep her in, but she always manages to get out. Finally, we just said forget it and left her out. We do keep the dogs confined to the family room and kitchen area when we are not home.

It seems the only time we use the pen now is for feeding times. Bella is a greedy eater and will gobble her food down and the go try to steal from the other dogs, which doesn't go over well. Our other 3 dogs respect each other when it comes to food and treats. But not Bella, she's very greedy so we just keep her separated from the others at meal and treat times.

I'm courious if the problam got resolved? Personally, I wonder if its out of spite and actually, Not sure if you ever left her on her own in the house before but she's not a baby anymore and well, maybe its time to let her have space. You said it yourself, She's fully trained when your home. So let her have the house for 30min and see what happens. Set out the pee pad and ofcourse a New bed is in order as her's has scent on it. Leave the kennel door open .. put a bed over in the corner away from the kennel and a pee pad out (ours is by the door). And thats it.. Leave her for 30 min .. come back and see if there is a mess. Next 45 min then an hour .. gradually increase it and see how it goes. I did it with our last one and very rare would there be a mess in the house and pee was always on the pee pad and she ofcourse was sleeping eithor in her bed, my bed or on the top of the chair looking out the front window.
Wondered if you tried that yet.

I'm in the same boat. My 5 month old yorkie poops and pees in her crate too. No matter what I do she does it.