Minpin/Italian Greyhound peeing in crate

Question
We have had our new puppy for about 1 1/2 weeks now and she has recently started to pee in her crate. She didn't start to until about 3 days ago. We feed her twice a day, take her out before bed, etc...We also wake up in the middle of the night when she whines to bring her out. It's very frusterating because, like I said, she did not do it until recently. We are very good otherwise-she has not had an accident in the house since we brought her home. Please help me!  

Answer
This is an answer recycled from about a week ago: I see many similar questions. It sounds to me like the dog is doing it deliberately to protest being left in the crate, or it could be the stress of being left alone. That is at odds with the conventional wisdom. However, many dogs don't seem to have read the parts about avoiding fouling their sleeping area.

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/

Rather than relaxing and catching a nap in their den, some puppies protest by fouling the crate. 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 foul one spot and retreat.