What I did for the first few weeks was put my puppy in a crate while I was at work. It was the same crate he slept in so he wouldn't potty in it. I fed him before work, played and then he went into the crate. I had attached a water bottle (hamster type) to the front so he could drink. I came home after 4 hours to feed and let him potty and play for awhile and then back into the crate for 4 more hours until I got home. I put the crate in front of the TV so he wouldn't get lonely :-) He never had one accident in the crate, because they say a dog won't generally mess where they sleep. After a couple of weeks I started putting him in an ex-pen with the water bottle attached, his bed, and some toys. This gave him more room and he didn't feel so restricted. He could also see our other dog. I didn't put a potty pad or anything in there. He has never once messed inside the ex-pen either. He is now a little over 6 months old and we have started letting him run around the lower level of the house when we aren't home because we have tile and also a doggie door. The crate training worked very well for us those first few weeks. I didn't ever want to use a potty pad since we have a doggie door and wanted him to know that he should always go outside and I thought he might get confused if I used potty pads in the pen. As long as you can let him out every 4 hours it should be okay. Good luck! |