Question about crate training.

[Rubik]

During a week, I put him out of his crate around 6:30 AM, I feed him and take him for a long walk. And when I leave for work I put him in his crate, which is around 8:30 AM. I come home at 6, take him out of his crate, feed him, walk him and play with him. And then in a evening I sometimes put him in a crate again for 1 hour or so because I need to do things and I’m not able to keep my eye on him. Then around 9 I feed him again and walk him and at 10:30 I put him in his crate. On a weekend, we wake up at the same time, and then in a middle of a day even if I’m home and not able to keep my eye on him I put him in his crate for a couple of hours.
Do you guys think that this is a good schedule for my puppy? He is 3 ½ months. I’m afraid that he sees that I’m home he wanders why he is in his crate. And then will have issues with his crate or with me.
Thank you,
Bella

[Cherry Heart]

Between 8:30 and 6 is he taken out by anyone else or do you come home for lunch? That just seems like a long time without a potty break.

You are doing right by your pup to crate him when you are to busy to keep an eye on him. Arwen use to be crated for my shower, cooking dinner if I was alone, various other things that I couldn't keep an eye on her during. Sometimes for simple things (cooking dinner) you can tie a leash to your belt loop and keep your puppy close, other times (showers) there is no avoiding crate time, it's much to their benefit to be in a safe place, they just get into trouble so fast!

Arwen use to be crated on weekends for a couple hours in the afternoon so my husband and I could spend time alone (he didn't adjust to haveing a puppy very well). She would usually just sleep, I always put a toy in with her, and she was just fine. At 1.5 she is very happy with her crate, and will run right in with a wagging nub. They learn that if mom/dad tells them the crate is the place to be, then the crate is the place to be, no arguments, just they way things should be.

[Rubik]

No, he is not being taken out while i'm at work. :( I don't have enough time to go home during lunch.

[Anne]

My opinion is that he is spending far too much time in the crate. He's a puppy and he needs to play and romp and exercise.
Can you have someone come in during the day and give him some time out of the crate for exercise and a potty break. Surely he is not able to hold his bladder for 9 1/2 hours per day at such a young age.

I admit I am not a fan of long spells in the crate because I wonder about muscle development when the pup is not able to move about freely. My adult dogs are not crated at all and my two pups are crated only whilst they eat. At other times the doors of the crates are left open so the dogs can go in them if they choose to.

[eliot]

I have a 3 1/2 month old male Rott/Lab mix who is crated while I am at work. I leave the house at about 6:00 am and will generally get home at about 4:30 in the afternoon. We have no neighbors who are home during the day. I did take a few weeks to build up to a full day gradually (1:00 for a few days, then 2:00, then 3:00 etc.). Suprisingly, he has never peed or pooped in his crate! For his comfort, considering the length of time he would be crated, we took the divider out so he has enough room to stretch out and frankly we didn't expect him to "hold it" and didn't want him to have to sit in it for any length of time. So far, so good ... he does "pee like a racehorse" when I get home.

Other than work time I try to keep crate time to a minimum. Hubby likes to watch him if I have work to do, errands to run, etc. We have reverted back to the old "baby-days" when we took turns doing things rather than having to have a babysitter (crate) for anything other than work time. I have a large yard and another dog so Max gets lots of time to run and play. Both dogs get at least one long (45 minutes) walk each morning and about a half an hour of yard play before I leave for work (yes, I get up at 3:00 AM!) so I am not too worried about exercise ... just sleep deprivation!