Peeing in crate help!

I posted this on the main board and realized it was more appropriate here.

We have a 14 week old puppy that we've had for 3 weeks now. She is doing fairly well with house training. She will go to the door when she needs to go - OFTEN! The problem is when we leave that has completely stumped. We are using Ian Dunbars book as our guide for crate training. Today we were out of the house for 3 hours (10am - 1pm) so we set up the "long term confinement" arrangement which is her crate with the door OPEN and in an x-pen with a pad. We took her out right before we left at 10am. When we got home at 1pm she had peed IN HER CRATE. This is the part that completely baffles me. Why would she go in her crate and stay in there when she has an opportunity to step outside her crate an go where she is not sleeping? This goes against everything we have read. We have a crate pad in there - one of those fleece ones. This is the third time this has happened so we are totally stumped. Anyone have some suggestions? We do have a vet appt tomorrow.

The first thing that pops in the mind is UTI.. That is easy to fix if you are going to the vet.

that's what I wondered too. I'll post what we find out tomorrow.

Also you could take the crate pad out for a while -- sometimes they will like to go on something soft and the pee soaks in so it doesn't bother the dog while they are laying nearby. But first stop is usually to check for a UTI when behaviour suddenly shifts. Also the very odd occasional accident like this isn't all that unusual especially for a very young puppy just learning. Most of us have probably had a damp crate at least once.