[Stitches29]

I can tell you what I did. Maggie is 4 months old. She is crate trained. Her crate is in my bedroom, right beside my bed. The reason for crate training is that, our bed is very high, and I was afraid of her falling or jumping off. I didn't want to roll over on her, or for her to PP on my bed. When she was a very young puppy, I took her outside every hour, then at night time--it was every two hours. I never failed one outing. Each time she was on a leash, so when her business was done, it was back in the house. Sometimes I do take a nap with her. She is one, very happy, adjusted baby. We only use her crate for night time sleeping only. She has just enough room to stand, lay down or turn around. She has a soft blankie and toy in there with her. If they have more room than that, they will use it as a bathroom. Trust me, I learned the hard way on that one. I also made a cover for it, so it has a more den like atmosphere. Along the walls of the crate, I use old small throw pillows. I made sure they were wedge really tight. Her crate interior is more like a padded room. She really likes it. It's cozy, dark and warm. During the day, it's on my lap, on the recliner, or in her fluffy bed in the den. I'm looking forward, when she moves to the big bed, but not until she is 100% potty trained and I have a stool for her to use to get up and down from the bed.