At 6 months I would think they should go the whole night. I take Chewy (8 months) out as late as I can... No earlier that 10:00 at night. he goes till around 7:00 in the morning. His crate is in my bed room. If he whines I take him out but that has only happened a few times since he was 3 months old.
When he was younger we had his crate up on my daughter other bed s he was able to see her...this seemed to help tons! Maybe if the crate could be where your dog can see you they can settle down for the night!
I potty train out side so I can't help much with the pee pads... he is in a crate when I am not home ( A pretty big crate so he can move around) he never goes in it.
When you leave you can't make a big deal about going out.. I put chewy in and barely say good bye (Heart breaking I know) but once he is in, I don't look at him or talk to him. I make it very matter of fact. he deals with it pretty good, just kind of lays down and snuggles in most times. If he does whine I ignor it because I don't want to make things worse by making a big deal!!!
Hope this helps!
