I was working in the office while training Sophie Kate, 9 + hours was way to long for her to be in the crate. I had to hire a dog walker to come over everyday and take her for a 30 minute walk. As she matured and learned to use the pad she would get limited roam after her 30 minute walk (meaning not crated but confined to a specific area of the house).
Now at 4 years old I still put Sophie Kate in her crate if we are going to be gone for any time longer than one hour. I just feel better with her confined, I know she is not getting hurt. I also confine her in case of emergency, if a neighbor needs to get in the house to rescue her they know where to find her.
I had to restart the basics of potty training a few times, it was not an easy task in our household.
__________________ Cheryl,Mom to  SophieKate |