Crate training for longer hours

[CleasMommy]

My boyfriend and I are the proud owner of a new rotty Pup, Dozer. He'll be 12 weeks this week. We also have an older female Clea who is probably 7 or 8 years old (rescue).

We have been crate training him and he's been doing great (no accidents in the crate in the last week and a half). The only problem is that 2 days out of the week I have to go to work. :( Bummer I know. But the real problem is that I am a 911 dispatcher and I work 12 hour shifts. My boyfriend is a firefighter and is gone for 72 hours straight. So for the 2 days where I have to go to work for my 12 hour shift, he isn't home either.

For Clea we built a dog run in our garage (which is completely insulated and drywalled), with a doggy door out to a completely gated and secure side yard. When we're home with her, she has free reign of the house and the backyard when we are outside with her, and is only in her "area" when I go to work. Now my dilema is with Dozer.

I work nights, I leave my house at 5:30 pm and get home at 6:15 am. Which is a long time I know (thankfully it's only 2 days a week). Right now I've been crating him (the crate is in the garage, inside the kennel area) when I leave for work, and my excellent neighbor has been coming over around 9 pm to let him out, play a little bit, go potty then back in the crate to sleep. I feel so guilty for him having to be in his crate so long, but I don't know what to do. Do you think he'd be ok to roam around for a couple hours in the kennel/ side yard and then be put in his crate at around 9 pm for bed? Clea and him have been doing AMAZING together, so I'm not too concerned about them being together, she is very motherly and patient with him. He's done very well out there too, when we're working in the garage or mowing the lawn we put the pups in there and they just hang out together.

I also have a play gate area set up on my tile right now inside of the house, which is in the family room, so if I am cooking or cleaning he can be in the room with us, but not roaming free. The problem is he will have accidents in the pen, (even after I'll take him out and watch him pee!) so I have thought about him being in his pen while I'm at work, but I don't know how good that is, since there he doesn't mind peeing on his bed.

I'm just very unsure of what to do, I want to do whatever ever will be best for my dogs, and that's why I'm looking for some good advise. Any tips would be appreciated. And please remember this is only 2 days a week, the other 5 days my boyfriend or I am home full time.

Thanks,
Katie