housebreaking an adult toy poodle

Question
Please help! I bought an almost 4yr old female toy poodle from a breeder that my brother had successfully used for his toy poodle -however I wanted an older dog who I felt would do better as I work full time.. the breeder told me the dog was "papertrained" in an exercise pen and also went outdoors in an ex-pen. I wanted to get away from this ex-pen idea and get the dog used to a crate.. however the dog has continually soiled the crate. I have taken her outside several times per day and night only to find she does not go. I cannot use treats with her as she does not have any interest in them nor does she play with any toys yet. She was not leashed trained but did go on a walk on a leash quite well yesterday..Also has a very poor appetite and only eats once a day if that right now. I did take her to the vet yesterday and he as far as he can tell she is healthy but needs teeth cleaned and spayed.. any ideas for a dog with these issues? Much thanks

Answer
This material is meant for younger dogs, but may be as good as anything for your case.  If the dog was forced to live in its own filth in a small cage, you will have a tough time of it.  

It is only natural that a puppy resists its crate at first.  What the puppy
wants more than anything else is to be with others, you, anyone else in the
household, and any other pets.  In our modern society, even if we are home,
other things distract us from the attention an uncrated puppy must have.   The
only real solution is to crate the dog when you aren't around.  Leave it some toys.  Perhaps a Kong filled with peanut butter.  Don't leave anything in the crate the dog might chew up.  Rather than relaxing and catching a nap in their den, some puppies protest by fouling the crate.  I haven't had this problem.  As I said, I see many questions suggesting it, and saw my daughter fight the problem.  

A wire grid in the bottom of the crate will help keep the puppy up out of urine and to a lessor extent stools.  They are available with the crates, but expensive and hard to find.  A piece of closely spaced wire closet shelving from a home supply place is cheaper.  This reduces the mess, making the protest much less effective.  The longer haired the puppy, the higher it needs to be.  In warmer weather, you can just haul the crate out and hose everything off.  When the puppy sees you coping with the situation, and you stand your ground, most of them give up and learn to relax, and that you will return.  One more thing that may help is using a smaller crate, or blocking off part of a larger one so the puppy can't fouled one spot and retreat.  

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy.  Very few houses even have a
safe room.  How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
else?  Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else.  In addition
to destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
intestinal  blockage from the pieces.  I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room.  It ate a hole in the floor covering.  The safe rooms fail to
give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires.  Nor
do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
itself.