Crate Training for Tiny Puppies?

I know most of you out there are proponents of crate training to housebreak a puppy, and I think it's a great method for most puppies too. However, what do you do when your puppy is a very small breed and can catch a cold easily and it continually rains (it's the rainy season in Korea right now)? I'm not even supposed to give Casey, my 3-month toy poodle, a bath at the moment as he has a chronic cough. On top of that, I have to leave the little guy at home from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. every day while I attend classes -- isn't that too long for such a tiny bladder? I do have him in a pen, but it has a little newspapered "bathroom" pan for him to use, and when it's raining, it's the only thing he uses. During the last week we've been able to go outside at most once a day because of all the rain. Finally, I'm not even sure I should be taking him outside at all until all his shots are complete -- and he's behind in his immunizations because of the chronic cough. I haven't really had the energy to be too concerned by his bathroom habits because I've just been concerned about his cough -- but now I'm starting to wonder how I'll be able to train him to wait and go outside once he's big enough to stand the weather. Any thoughts?

I have never crated a puppy outside. I have always used a crate inside the house. When the puppy has been very small - use a larger crate and make a bed one end - and a potty pat the other end. Leave plenty of food and water. IMHO I wouldn't leave a small puppy on it's own for that length of time - is it not possiible to get someone to go in and play with the pup when you are out of the house? Puppies need a lot of human re-asssurance and loving. A pup should be only crated for 1 hour for every month of it's age

No, no, I would never crate a puppy outside either. I mean that I can't take him outside to do his business because it's too wet outside. Since I live in Korea, I can't find anyone I trust enough to visit Casey while I'm out. I do come home as quickly as possible. Actually, I was reluctant to get a puppy because of that problem, but everyone said that it was a much shorter time than the average working day and shouldn't be a problem. But I totally understand your viewpoint and I do worry about the little guy. However, when I am home all day, he tends to be very sleepy for most of the time when I would normally be gone. I don't know if this is his natural schedule, or if it's just the way he's adapted to his situation. His playful times are early morning (I get up quite early to try to compensate for my morning away) and from around 8 pm until we put him into his house (kennel cab) for bed. Strangely, my little 4 pound poochie can get through the night without a pee already. I'm proud of the little guy. Anyway, glad to hear that you also allow your puppies to do their business inside when they're little. I feel like it will be hard to train him to go only outside, but his health comes first.

Sorry I'm so longwinded tonight -- whew!

Thanks so much.

when i got my gsd he was 7 weeks old,i started off by putting him in crate for 15 minutes,then a half hour,the longest he was left in it was about 4 hours and that was he was about 2 months old,he did great,there were times at night when he would leave our bed and go lay in his crate,he loved the crate...

when i got my gsd he was 7 weeks old,i started off by putting him in crate for 15 minutes,then a half hour,the longest he was left in it was about 4 hours and that was he was about 2 months old,he did great,there were times at night when he would leave our bed and go lay in his crate,he loved the crate...

I thought Damien was in there all day while you were at work. I might have misread something....

Here is the story i got damien when i lived in kentucky was gonna get married,that was in feb..He was 7 weeks when i got him,i did not work when i lived out there,well kentucky sucked and my fiance worked for nascar so he was never home,so i got some sedatives for damien packed him up and drove back to az,where i got my old job back that i had for 7 years.Does that help// ;) ;)

Winter's are mild in CA but still too cold in the house for my mom's little puppy at night. We put training pads inside a fenced-in area by the sliding glass door. We bought a quilted igloo type cat bed and put it in the enclosure. At night, he would happily go into his little house and cuddle up with his furry rabbit pelt. The igloo style bed stopped any drafts from hitting him. During the day, he was with my mom and she did the routine of going outside, praise, etc. In the Spring, we installed a doggie door into the sliding door and made the pads much smaller. By then he rarely used them anyway and held it all night. He began going out the doggie door on his own and we took down the fencing. He outgrew the cat bed and got big enough to jump up on Mom's bed where he now snuggles with his head on her shoulder.

I guess it is possible, but not the greatest idea. Why don't you just pen him?