[PennysMum]

My dog is crate trained, and we've been crating her since a pup-- she likes her crate and it has worked well for us, but if you're going to do it with a young puppy, you have to be ready to make some sacrifices to make it work. Crate training works because dogs don't want to potty where they sleep, but you have to be on the ball about taking them out at appropriate intervals even if you're working! When Penny was still little, I would come home from work at lunch time and then once in the mid-afternoon when I could sneak away to take her outside for potty breaks and exercise. As she grew bigger she could go for longer periods, but even now if I am going to be at work for more than an eight hour day, I will try to duck out for a quick visit at lunch so she can go out and take care of business.

If you don't work somewhere that is flexible like that, going with an x-pen might be a better option since you'd have the freedom to use wee-wee pads.