My pup wont stop peeing in the house

Question
QUESTION: We have a Border Collie, her name is Montana.  She is 6 months old and is fixed.  She is a wonderful, wonderful smart dog and we love her so much.  She has been with us for 3 months now.  

The problem is she keeps peeing in the house.  We are at wits end.  Here is how we attempted to house train her:

-We would take her out every couple hours, etc.  Get up in the night every 3 hours.  She now goes about 5 hours at night without having to go, sometimes longer.  

-We praised her and used treats when she did a good job.  We had puppy pads by the front door... just in case.  She knew to go to those.  Then she started tearing those up so we quit with them.  

-Now we can take her out to to her thing and 90 minutes later would pee on floor without going to the door or anything.  

-Now we are trying the time out approach.  We put her on the back patio (enclosed) when she does it and leave her out there about 20-30 minutes with no toys, etc.  It has gotten to the point that we can take her out to do her thing, go grocery shopping for an hour and come back to a mess!  So now we put her in the patio when we leave... here is the kicker, she never messes out there!

We are getting new carpet in the house it 2 days.  We do not want it ruined!  I know she is still young but we have raised a lab before and never had this problem.  Accidents yes, but not like this.

Please help!!

ANSWER: A healthy 6 months old should be making it over night.  Start with a vet exam, explaining the problem.  It could also be a leadership challenge.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm

When you are around you need to keep a close eye on the dog. Use closed doors or gates to keep it in the same room as you are, and perhaps as I do, a short chain fastened to the computer desk. If you catch it in the act, give it a sharp ''Ah, ah, ah!'' and take it out. When you can't watch it, crate it.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, make take some work. Start out just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going in. If you have been able to trust it with any bedding, put that in the crate. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at feeding time for more than one dog.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your insight.  It is much appreciated.  I am wondering if it is
the "top dog" scenario with my wife.  Montana never does it when I am
around, only when I am gone and my wife is there alone with her or we are
both gone.  When we come home we know she did something because she
puts her head down and whimpers.  

My question is this:  Would it be bad to crate her after so long?  She sleeps on
our bed or by the foot of it every night.  I don't know how she would react.

Thank you again for your kindness.  

Answer
Rule # 13 for top dogs is not letting the dog sleep in your bed.  Quite likely she will not like being forced out of the choice sleeping spot.  Doing so will be a major blow to her competition with your wife.  The best sleeping spots are a big deal to dogs with a strong drive for dominance.