My wife and I have adopted a 3 year old Teacup Poodle on Friday. When I picked her up from her previous home, I was told that she makes messes when she loses them or they have left the home. Their solution was to cage her for the duration of leaving the home. This has been the case since she has done it 3 times so far here at the house when I have gone to the bathroom, bedroom, or have just came out to the computer. I don't want to continue putting her in the cage while we are gone, since this only re-enforces the bad behavior. What are my options or solutions?

Crate training, if you do it right, should not re-enforce bad behavior. You have to make sure your dog likes her crate. Give her treats while she is in there, toys to play with, put her bowls in there and feed her in there. It's important that she enjoys being in her crate. We're working on that with our puppy and so far no accidents in the crate and we used to come home to accidents after being gone an hour.

Take your dog outside after she's been fed or been drinking water, playing or napping. Give her a treat (one that smells really good) every time she goes potty outside. And don't let her out of your site. If you're going to the bathroom, take her with you or put her in her crate. If you need to use a leash to attach her to you while you do things, go for it. That way she's not out of your sight. All these things are thing that our trainer has suggested to us

If you catch her in the act of peeing/pooping in the house clap your hands or make a noise to startle her so she stops and take her outside to finish her business.