1) he is probably bored, get him some toys to play with, spend
more time playing with him. dun let him make it a habit as he might
end up chewing his own tail...
2) it is NOT normal. it's a kinda sickness, u can stop tat by
simply being there when he do his biz and immediately clear it.
Stop him when he attempts to go near his poo, not by whacking him,
but by getting his attention and saying a firm "NO".
3) he might be scared or just needed somewhere to be his comfort
zone. give him his own corner in the room or house as his sleeping
den. make it comfortable. it would be good to give him one of ur
unwanted old tee, clean of cos. the smell of u on the tee makes him
comfortable, like being near u.
4) every dog should at least poo once a day, pee at least twice.
make it a habit for him. after every meal, get him to go poo and
pee. encourage him to do on the paper and dun let him get away
until he did. after the habit is formed, it bec normal for
him.
5) make water easily available for him. make sure there's always
fresh water. for me i put a bottle of water and a feeding pump at
his crate. he can just drink whenever he want. also after every
meal, get him to go drink water.
you'll realise having a dog is rather similar to having a baby. but
the good thing is dog is a creature of habit and once the habit is
formed, it will remain. therefore, help him to form good habits.
also in training, avoid whacking. Just a firm "no" or just roll a
newspaper and hit on the floor will do significantly.
of cos i do beat my dog lah... i piak his butt! 
but not often cos i yelled his name he kia liao!
