[Jacksmom052709]

Or if you have a pet sitter in the area - maybe you could have them come in at least once during the 9 hours you are gone to take him out of his crate or pen and play with him a bit. I agree a friend would be good too. We trained Jack to use the puppy pads first once he had that down, we introduced going out to go potty. Now he enjoys going out more than using the potty pads (he looks like he is embarrassed or has the look that says "Mom, I'm a big boy now and do I hafta use this pad?!?" unless its rainy, snowing too much or too cold/windy, he would prefer to go outside. I always keep a close eye on him though because there are stories of wild animals (coyotes in particular) and birds of prey scooping up these little ones for dinner. With you having the wildlife around you, you need to be careful when letting them out.

We let Jack sleep with us. He has never wet the bed and he's been sleeping with us since about day 5 that we had him.

By the way, Newton is just a little doll baby! Congrats and good luck with him!