I, personally, would try to do a combo of having her crate open and accessible in a play yard but only IF she is pad trained. My dogs, though, are potty outside only dogs, so I would leave them in their crates if I can't leave them out to roam. My big dog is absolutely trustworthy alone in the house, so he gets full reign when we're gone. Blazer, my Yorkie, is not trustworthy for long periods of time, so he would be in his kennel. Was that all confusing? Sorry, if so! Some dogs just do better in their crates so as long as you have someone to let your girl out for a walk and lunch break, she will be fine. Frankly, she'll be fine in the crate the entire 8+ hours, too, but that just doesn't seem fair to her in the long run. Basically, you know your dog and you may have to do trial and error to figure out the best scenario. Crate all day? Crate half day? No crate? Play pen? Free roam? At any rate, try leaving her alone for longer periods of time between now and you starting your job. Congrats on that, by the way!
