Crate training / playful biting problems

Question
Hello,

I am currently crate training a puppy.  My fiance and I bought her (Shepherd/Rott mix) when she was 8 weeks old and have been crate training her now for two weeks.  She was doing very well, but seems to be regressing.  In the beginning we put a few towells in to keep her comfortable and also a few toys to keep her entertained.  Our routine is as follows:  Morning - We take her out of the crate, take her straight outside to eliminate, reward the elimination outside, feed/water her, play with her, take her outside again to eliminate, and then return her to her crate. Noon - repeat the morning process.  Evening - repeat the process.  We have a crate with an adjustable partition and try to keep it small enough to keep her from eliminating in her cage, but large enough to be comfortable.  We take her out of the crate a few other times during the day to play with her and show her love, but we do not feed her.  Everything else is the same.  

A few times in the morning I'll come down when she starts whining and found that she urinated in her crate.  I chalked that up to my not getting their quickly enough and only disciplined her by saying, "No".  I took her blankets out and her toys in order to be washed/dried.  She is now in a bare crate.  My fiance just called me and told me that, while not under stress and not barking/whining to let her know that she wanted to go outside, she looked over from where she was working to see the dog standing on her hind legs with her front paws on the front of the cage.  She was urinating into the front edge of her crate.  Have I left her too much room?  Has taking out her bedding and toys created extra space so she thinks it's ok to urinate in the front of the crate?  Do we take her out of her cage too many times a day and she hasn't learned to hold her elimination for longer periods of time?  Any help you can give us is appreciated.  Also, I have been playing with her by putting her on her back and grabbing her paws and she nips at me and then I grab her mouth/muzzle and simulate how she played with other puppies.  She loves it and loves to jump and nip my ears and chin, but mostly my fingers and hands.  But she is also getting stronger.  When she bites my hands/fingers it is starting to hurt.  Plus I'm worried she might bite someone else in play and hurt them.  I try to bait-and-switch a toy instead of my hands/fingers, but she still likes my hands better.  What do you recommend to get her to stop playing like this?  I've tried to get her to understand words like, "EASY" or "OUCH" so she knows that she's hurt me or has played too hard, but it's not taking.  

Answer
Confining any dog, yet alone a young neonate, to a crate for many hours (and OVER THE COURSE of every single DAY) IS INHUMANE.

Get that puppy OUT OF THAT CRATE and DO THE WORK required to house train her. At ten weeks, she is UNABLE to control her urination, physiologically UNABLE.  You are forcing her to sit in her own urine in an environment where there is NOTHING TO DO.  

DO NOT FORCE THIS PUPPY ONTO HER BACK.  You have no idea what you're doing with this dog and you are going to produce a dog with a strong fear aggression, a total lack of socialization, an inability to accept restraint (hugs, affection, etc.) and a huge house training issue.

House training is accomplished by taking a puppy this age out EVERY TWO HOURS and especially after an active play episode.  Reward her with praise every time she eliminates outdoors; IGNORE HER ACCIDENTS.  Clean them up when she is NOT LOOKING. Confine her to an area with tile or linoleum (such as the kitchen) NOT THE CRATE.  She cannot, physiologically CANNOT, control her urge to urinate and she won't be able to for at least two to three weeks, or more.

Your "play" is specifically designed to elicit aggression and fear.  You are NOT another puppy.  Placing a dog on its back is forcing it into a submissive posture: when a dog is voluntarily on its back, the adversary or higher ranking member WALKS AWAY.  When you FORCE a young puppy (especially at this fear phase) onto its back and then GRAB HER MUZZLE (another VERY DOMINANT behavior) you are REMOVING her natural instinct and TRAINING FEAR AGGRESSION.

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, find out how to interact with this dog.  You are destroying her temperament.  READ!  Buy Patricia McConnell Ph.D.'s books "How To Be the Leader of The Pack" and "For the Love of A Dog"; buy John Fisher's "Think Dog"; buy Turid Rugaas' "Calming Signals" and go to ClickerTraining.com and learn about positive reinforcement training.  THROW THE DAMN CRATE IN THE GARBAGE.  The only way to house train a dog is to REWARD appropriate elimination, take the dog out OFTEN (and a young dog this age needs to urinate frequently), the more you take her out, the better; as she gets older and is able to contain her urine, lessen the times she goes out but ALWAYS leave her at LEAST six times a day.  FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME to eliminate and be rewarded for it is the ONLY WAY to house train a dog.  What you are doing is psychologically damaging her, emotionally harming her and teaching her you cannot be trusted.  You are setting yourself up for a fear biter.  This puppy needs to be heavily, and intelligently, socialized to other dogs, people and places BEFORE she obtains the age of FOUR MONTHS.  I certainly hope she's getting adequate veterinary care.