ZoE isn't confined to her crate other than for travel. I used a playpen for the first few weeks, to get her to use her potty pads. Once she got the hang of that, I then opened a side of the playpen so she could get to her potty pads whenever she needed them. Now, she just turned 5 months old and she's has the run of the house (other than a construction area I'm working on, which is blocked off).
It's my understanding that people that use crates do so to outdoor potty train or if puppies are teething really bad & chew up stuff. ZoE is teething right now, but she doesn't chew any of my furnishings, just her toys. I think I seriously lucked out with this pup
