[pamelakay]

When you say you leave him in the crate for long periods of time, how long do you mean? If you are taking the crate training route, it needs to be pretty scheduled, allowing the dog to come out and eat, go potty, play, etc. If you are just leaving him in the crate for a long time after/before he eats, it defeats the purpose of potty training cause he might end up not being able to hold it for so long and he'll just go in his crate. He's still a puppy afterall. Is that what has been happening?

Have you tried hand feeding him his food? My puppy at times doesn't want to eat at the scheduled time I make for him, so I start handing him some food and he eats it and then goes for his bowl and eats that all up. Sometimes I put a little Nutrical in my hand and roll the kibble in it, and that usually gets him to eat.

Also, in regards to the potty training, maybe you can take him out to eat, but also take him to his potty area afterwards to see if he'll go. Then you can play with him or whatnot and put him back in his crate. 1 hour or so later (maybe longer, since your puppy's a little older and may be able to hold it in for 2 hrs or so), take him out and take him to his potty area and see if he'll go again. He'll learn to hold it in his crate and wait until he's out. Gradually start increasing the time he's in the crate from 1 hour to 2, so he learns to hold it for longer. I wouldn't suggest leaving your dog in the crate for sooo many hours though..that won't be good for him.

Also, if he's not eating well..then yes, it could cause low blood sugar. I give Nutrical to give the extra calories when my puppy is being finicky with his eating.

Hope this helps a bit. Good luck!