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Hi there! Welcome to the forums! Congrats on your new dog! Please see my observations under yours in bold. We adopted an adult male husky 2 weeks before Christmas, named Sebastian. We are at least his fourth owners as I’ve been in touch with his last two and he was microchipped and neutered at some point before two owners ago. He is 3 years, 8 months old and seems pretty well-adjusted in general, with no obvious phobias or problems being touched or handled. I visited the local shelter last month and it had several huskies and they do so poorly being kenneled so Sebastian is super lucky! Thank you for having opened your heart and home to him. Huskies get easily depressed being cooped up and struggle with being alone. One main problem we’ve had is finding that he has pooped/peed on the floor either during the night or while we were away for several hours. It may be coincidence but this seems less likely to happen if I give him a chewie before we leave or shut him in a room at night. It's not unusual for dogs to have some accidents when in a new home. There are several things at play, such as different routines, possibly different foods and treats, and any stress may increase motility and make them poop more. If he gets stressed being alone, that can be a culprit, but I would expect you to hear him whining/barking or scratching at the door during the night, although it's also true that some dogs may feel stressed and remain quiet but may be panting and shaking while laying down. If giving the chewie before you leave seems to help, keep doing that. As a bonus, you are helping him associate shutting the door with something good, but give it as well every now and then at times when you are sticking around so that the chewie doesn't become a reliable predictor of you leaving him alone. It may help to record his behavior upon being left alone (like set up a nanny cam) so to see what he is exactly doing. Some dogs suffering from separation-related distress will pee/poop when left alone. Eventually once our two cats are accustomed enough to him we will allow him to roam freely and choose his sleeping spot. We did buy him a kennel but he seems averse as he became very anxious when we first tried shutting him in, even though it was in the master bathroom, just a door away as he had been in the kitchen, and we put a very comfortable bed inside. I'm familiar with crate-training as a housebreaking tool so I’ve started trying to get him used to it by degrees, having him go in and then shutting the door while I give him a treat. We don't know his history, so maybe he wasn't well potty trained from the get-go, maybe he was kept outdoors most of the time and likely, from his response, he wasn't ever placed in a crate. Sadly, since the pandemic there has been a surge of pups surrendered due to separation-related disorders. In the meantime he has chosen the rug in the hallway as his sleeping spot so we just shut all of the doors around it. Again if he seems reluctant to “go to bed” when we do, I find a mess to clean up in the morning; but if he’s especially tired or I give him a “good night” treat he waits until I take him out in the morning. Results have been similar when we leave the house for a few hours. This sounds more like some issue with being left alone. Dogs don't 'revenge poop," rather in most cases, they have accidents as a result of the distress associated with being left alone. Of course, there may other factors at play, like not emptying the bowels before being alone for a certain period of time. So it may turn helpful with time, training him how to go potty on cue: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/potty-on-command/ Upping his exercise, play, training and mental stimulation (brain games) can help him keep busy and feel more tired to go to bed at night, but it sounds like he's more worried about being alone that bored. In addition to this, we have an unfinished second story in our house where my husband has a home office and other used spaces. Several times now we’ve found puddles next to items that he’s apparently marked(?), as well as the occasional poop. From what we’ve seen and the articles here I’m guessing that there is some territorial marking combined with his not recognizing that the upstairs is also part of our house/den. He peed on the main level once or twice during the day (once we started letting him roam) but has not done this for a couple of weeks. I’m not sure yet if these things were issues in his previous homes, or if these behaviors are new-house anxiety related, especially as my in-laws were here with their two (geriatric) dogs over Christmas. We haven’t yelled at him or punished him as of course he wouldn’t know what he did wrong, but he’s so sneaky when he pees upstairs that we’ve never caught him in the act. He gets meals at regular intervals but we do need to adopt a more consistent “potty” schedule, and a belly band may be helpful as well, at least as a stopgap solution. So my questions are these: - Is the pooping upstairs due to a separate issue from the peeing/marking, or are they both anxiety-related? Peeing along with pooping as mentioned can be triggered by separation distress. Some dogs though also urine mark novel items, and like you mentioned, they may also pee if they aren't fully potty trained (incomplete house training). If possible, I would keep him mainly in one area (lower floor) until he's more reliable and nearby a door always under clear supervision, and if really needed, keeping him upstairs only after you're sure he's empty (peed and pooped very recently) and for no more than a couple of hours (or for how long he has demonstrated he's capable of holding it), always watching him carefully. It could be that in his past home, he was scolded for going potty in the home, and this has created in him a need to sneak away and go potty out of sight. Peeing after other dogs being in the home is also a big urine marking trigger so we would have to factor that in as well, especially if he has stopped urine marking for a while after them being there. - How can I make the kennel a "safe" place where he goes by habit, if he always wants to be with us during the day? Very slow introductions are needed, starting without shutting him in and encouraging him to visit it and creating positive associations with it often during the day. Here are some tips: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/love-the-crate/ Since he always wants to be with you, you would also need to work on brief separations, always making sure he's not left for longer than he can tolerate. If this is a true case of separation distress, you would need to take baby steps: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/general-guidelines-for-clingy-dogs-dogs-with-separation-anxiety/ - Is his messing on the floor at night or while we're away due to separation anxiety or something else? It could be a separation distress behavior, but we would need more info/proof on this such as by recording his behavior and seeing what he is exactly doing when alone. It can help training him to go potty on cue so that when you leave or close him for the night he's "empty." Make sure to clean messes with an enzyme-based cleaner and use a blacklight to detect missed urine spots. I hope this helps, in the meanwhile Happy New Year!