We are getting a 8 week old puppy this weekend, and only have this big crate , so if I put the puppy pad in back of it , and block off area/ but he can get over it . Keep him from peeing on his sleeping area, and pad. 2 days a week , he will be home alone 6 am to 1 pm. And bought a water bowl, but hangs on crate and just put maybe little less cup water in it.
You need a small crate just large enough for his bed and take him out regularly to toilet. Unfortunately it will not be posssible to leave an 8 week old pup home alone for 7 hours.
We started with a huge crate but reduced the size with a bit of extra mesh held on with cable ties. It worked well and we could increase it as she grew. @5labs is totally correct, you just can’t leave such a small pup for so long. In fact, that’s pushing it for an adult dog. You need to look at alternative arrangements so to safeguard your pups emotional and physical development
We have had him home for 5 days, he has potty pads in back of crate, and has used them . Thankfully no poop in there. But he slept from 10 pm to 5 this morning , and used his potty pad .
Have large crate for my now 12+ week old puppy and it works fine for her. She'll be able to use it when she's full grown too. She was crate trained by the breeder before I picked her up in a large crate. I just put an old towel in it for her and it works fine. Easy to wash too. Only feed her twice a day on schedule in the crate and have water bowel outside back patio door. When I'm gone for the day, I have a retired lady, just down the street, who comes in and lets her out every 2-1/2 to 3 hours for potty, water and a little play or bird dummy retrieve time. She is actually starting to go into the crate by herself. She loves it as I believe she sees it as her very own den. When I take her out to her potty place I take her to the same place every time and she's starting to go to there by herself when she's outside. Otherwise, I carry her or walk her there immediately when I take her out of the crate. My command for potty time is "Do your business" This phrase seems to be working good.
It is not recommended that you give the puppy a toilet place in the crate. You want the whole crate to be the bed. Otherwise you lose the advantage of a crate, which is a place where the puppy is encouraged to hold on for the purposes of toilet training. 7 hours is way too long for a puppy to be crated - forget about toilet training and feeding times, a puppy need interaction and stimulation, and outings and training and play sessions. As a breeder, I would never home somewhere a pup is going to be crated 7 hours a day - this is torture and abuse. Please find a pet sitter or dog walker in your area who offers puppy visits and can make at least 2 visits to your dog during this time to let him out to toilet and to play with him and take him out for a short walk in the area to help break up the day.
