dog peein in own crate at 8 months!

[annej8]

my 8 month old female beagle is peeing in her crate! When I first introduced a crate to her that night, she peed but later on she never did so. I thought all was well, until later that week she started peeing in one corner and rolled up the towel where she peed on so she wouldn't have to sleep on her own pee. I tried taking the towel away at night when she sleeps and she never pees if there's no towel. Problem solved? NOt quite...I'm worried that she's too cold without a towel in her crate to sleep in at night and she simply REFUSES to go into her crate without her towel in there. She's more gentle and calm in her crate when there's a blanket but once I take it away, she moves and barks inside her crate. PLEASE HELP!!! really need advice on what to do..I think my crate is too big for her but I dont know what to do now...it's so sad to see her sleep without a towel at night =(

[Carina]

FIRST thing is to take a urine sample in to your vet, just to rule out a urinary tract infection. These are quite common, and may well be the case if she was fine in her crate and then relapsed. Is she spayed? UTIs are more common in spayed females.

It could be that she does pee when there's no towel in there, then "cleans" it up, or lies in it so it dries or it evaporates. If there's no UTI, and she does indeed pee only when her towel is there, maybe finding an alternative to a towel (perhaps she smells the urine on it, even after its been washed) or getting her used to no towel will work. One of my dogs generally refuses to lie on a dog bed, he actually prefers a cool, hard surface. Being young, it really won't hurt her.

Do check for a UTI, though. Sometimes those can be painful, and then you'd know for sure whether you're dealing with a medical problem (easily cured) or a behavioural problem.