I have a 9 week golden retriever and had her here for 1 week. She goes through the night a dream from 10:30 to 7am without wetting at all. However if she is in the crate during the day and even though she goes out to relieve herself before and after every meal she sometimes wets in the crate or on the kitchen floor if she is out. She always wets her bed rather than the paper in the crate. Her bed is 2 layers of towels and a puppy blanket on top. Whenever she does it I wash the blankets and wipe the crate as I know she goes back where she has been before and where she can smell it. Any ideas please.

Are you using the special cleaning products to clean up after her ?
Are you using non-biological powder on the washing ?
Does she wet in the house when alone or when you are in ? If she wets when you are in , you need to watch for the signs that she is about to go , then get her out quick with lots of praise after . 

I was told to use biological washing powder to clean the floor and carpet though we haven't had that problem yet and i have jsut been to buy some of that! I am using an eco ball in the washing. Just using damp cloth otherwise to wipe out the crate. she is not in the house yet only the kitchen. If I am in the room and I see her start I do as you say but generally she has done everything she needs to do.
Unfortunately her crate is in the kitchen behind an isle so she can't see me even if I am in the kitchen. yesterday I let her into the kitchen to wander about more but I think she got too tired so today I am trying keeping her in the crate for longer as someone suggested but she is not happy.

Have you tried taking her out every hour or so , also straight after she has woken up , and after she has eaten ?
Are you cleaning out the crate with more than just water ?

How long does she spend in the crate ?
She is doing well to go through the night .

> I am using an eco ball in the washing.

Normally very commendable :-) but just now you need to use a biological powder to destroy any scent of urine that would encourage her to go again.
Puppies this young need to not only go out after every meal but also after every nap and every 45 mins when awake and playing.  It is early days and you will have more of this to come I am sure but if you restrict her to an area easily cleaning if an accident does occur it helps take a lot of the stress out of things and you will find it easier to cheerfully accompany her in and out the garden all day :-)

I try to catch her when she has just woken up and that works well but I am going tohave to go back to work soon and leave her for 2-3 hours so i thought she ought to get used to that but maybe that is not a good idea when i am actually at home.

We started leaving the crate door open so she could wander around the kitchen but that is when we thougth she was getting too tired and needed to be in the crate to settle down to sleep. i am still not sure about this crate business as there are so many opinions!

2-3 hours is too long for a puppy of this age.  If you have to go back to work very soon I don't think a crate is going to work for you.  You would be better organising a pen that allows for a toileting area and just be prepared to clean up when you get in for a month or two more.

Thanks - will look into it. Try to get hubby to come home some days - at the moment will only be out once a week anyway.

I think I misled the previous messsage. Puppy has bedding and paper in crate but if she does wet anywhere it is the bed not the paper. having read various articles I think I need to clean everything thoroughly with biological washing and remake the fresh bed. Then mop up some pee sometime and put it onto paper so the paper smells and not the bed. Does this sound a good idea? Thanks for all the help.

> Then mop up some pee sometime and put it onto paper so the paper smells and not the bed.

It may help but personally I have never found it necessary and prefer to have as little smell of pee about the place as possible :-)

>little smell of pee about the place as possible .

But how can I get her to pee on the paper and not on her bed. I know everyone says they don't fowl their sleeping area but this one does!

Washing the bedding with biological power and a slightly bigger area such as a pen will help to avoid confusion between the papered toileting area and bed.  If that does not work then you could try "baiting" the paper area but I have never needed to with a pen.

Ultimately you don't want her to pee on paper at all, but outside, so it would be easier if you didn't teach her something which she then has to unlearn as that can be difficult to do.  I'm wondering if the crate is too big?  It's best to have the smallest possible size for your pup - she may be peeing in there because there is enough space to do that in one part and then remain sitting in another part of the crate away from the mess?  Most pups will not soil their bed/crate unless they have to.  You can get cheap crates on ebay - they're not great quality but fine for using temporarily until your pup gets bigger.
Re. your problem with the pup not liking being in the crate - have you tried giving her a kong with some food / treats in it each time she goes in the crate?  This will give her positive associations with going into her crate as well as keeping her occupied for a while.
I do think the crate is worth persevering with.  You have a breed of dog which is likely to go through a destructive chewing phase for several months when it is older and if you don't want your house destroyed (I speak from bitter experience with a previous spaniel) you will probably want to confine her somewhere when you need to go out. 

Good point about the paper. I will persevere with cleaning the towels but try to be there when she wants to go out. Crate may be a bit too big - we bought it new but bought one which would be big enough for her when she is bigger. i thought there was supposed to be one side for peeing and one for sleeping but maybe that is more of a kennel.
what is a kong? she is ok usually with going in it is just I think when she is overtired and thinks play is a better idea!

Hi DebbieP
I always use trainer pads for mine as pups,it saves alot of mess and wet as it soaks the wee up on to the pad at one end of the crate.
You could start by putting a couple in the crate or near her bed. Its not ideal having to train with pads..but sometimes we cant always be at home with pup.
As soon as returning home put pup out for wee,or after play or food or water.
She is still very young so i wouldnt worry to much,it will all come together soon.

We have had 3 golden retriever over the years so I know we will get there eventually but I don't remember it being like this - maybe we were just younger! I may try trainer pads if she continues to pee on bed - thanks.

a kong is a great toy, its basically chew proof and you can stuff things in it to keep them occupied

http://www.companyofanimals.co.uk/kong.php

this is the classic

http://www.companyofanimals.co.uk/red.php

You may find that a really thorough clean of the crate itself, to remove any lingering odours may do the trick.  First wash thoroughly in and out with bio powder, good rinse and then wipe round with surgical spirit leave and finally wipe dry. The surgical spirit should completely break down any residual proteins from the urine. Dog noses are so sensitive that even the tiniest trace of a smell will just set her little bladder off.

Keep puppy well out of the way when you are doing this as the surgical spirit has a very strong smell and she won't like it at all. Once it has dried no problem.

She's only a baby so you may need to keep the cleaning ritual up for a while but it will work in the end, so long as you are consistent and regular about outside loo breaks after every meal, and every play break.

I never put papers in the crate, I put them in the puppy pen which I attach to the sides of the crate this way they use the papers, I always leave the door of the crate open while they are as young as this.

She's only a baby so you may need to keep the cleaning ritual up for a while but it will work in the end, so long as you are consistent and regular about outside loo breaks after every meal, and every play break.
That sounds a good idea thanks.

I think we have been misled about a crate thinking it was what everyone here is refering to as a pen.

A crate is (usually) a wire 'box' with one or two doors. A pen has no roof (unlike a crate) and is often adjustable in size by removing or adding extra panels.

Gnerally you place the crate inside the pen, or attach the pen to the crate, so that it creates a run outside the crate. You always leave the crate door open. Some crates, if they are of the metal variety, might, I guess seem like very small pens. You can get pens with lids that can close over the top of the pen or can be left off. I find that the ones that close over are a good idea and stop puppies from climbing, like little monkeys, out of the pen ( I had a bright pup that managed to do this). It also makes cleaning easier as you can just fold the tops back and climb in the pen.

Hi

Just discovereed the soft filling for kong which has made a great difference. What is kibble as I see I can also stuff with that. Is it American for their normal food?

> What is kibble as I see I can also stuff with that. Is it American for their normal food?

yes, its dry dog food, kibbles just easier to say :)

How is the housetraining going DebbieP ?

Not too good at the moment. I am trying to encourage her to go on the lead but she just plays with the lead and I sometimes stay out for about 20 mins and then come in and she goes inside. I know it is my fault not hers but I can't find the right way to do this. I feel I must persevere with the lead otherwise she will trun riot in the grass. She is adorable most of the time but this has gone on too long really.

Just seen this thread.  I don't know if this will be of any help to you but my dog was in a large crate from 8 weeks old.  Her bed (to begin with) was a shallow cardboard apple box filled with towels and a blanket.  I put that in one end of the crate and sectioned off the rest of the crate by dividing with cardboard through the bars.  It worked very well and once I was confident she would not mess in the crate (she never did) I removed the divider and the box.

Sounds like a good idea but I think it is too late now to change what she has been with for 2 weeks. I think we just need to persevere with praising her when she goes outside. She needs to get used to going on the lead and then I think we may have progress. Thanks

>Sounds like a good idea but I think it is too late now to change what she has been with for 2 weeks

Well, you know your pup best but to be honest I don't think it's too late to change if what you are doing is not successful :-)

Why does she have to go on the lead?  When mine actually performed a wee I would 'sing' "wee wees, good girl" which means I was able to and still can get her to perform on command.

I use go pee and go poo and my bitch will pee on command and if she can will poo on command.  The pup at 11 1/2 weeks is also peeing on command in the garden but we just need to make the transition to peeing outwith the house/garden and going in the park.