Do you punish a dog that eliminates in its crate?

you definitely do not punish a 9 week old puppy. you have to set up a routine, so she knows that she is going to be taken out for a pee. after she eats, you should take her out 30 minutes later for a walk to poop. puppies eat more so they poop more. as she gets older it will be probably eating no more than twice a day, so the poop control will be less. but you still have to have at least 2 or 3 times a day where they know they are going to go out to poop. sometimes they have a surprise poop, which you can't blame any one for. having 4 dogs of my own the best advise i can give you is to set up a routine and stick to it. punishing them does not help and only serves to depress them...altho smart, they don't correlate the poop in the dining room with you getting angry. once she has a routine, and understand the crate is her home, she will stop. dogs tend not to poop where they sleep. good luck, and give it some time. 9 weeks is very young. but perfect to start setting up a routine your dog can depend on.