[Verna]

When I crate trained Maximus, if I was going to be gone for more than 4 hours, I would place him in the kitchen with a baby gate and puppy pad. Once I got home, I'd keep the puppy pad by the door so when I would see him go towards the puppy pad, I would take him outside, and he'd potty. If he went potty on the puppy pad, I'd tell him good boy. If he went potty outside, I'd give him a treat. Eventually, he would even fake potty outside just get a treat. He slowly stopped using his puppy pad. Crate training worked well for short hours at a time.