[mochamix79]

Hi Kari, welcome to puppy hood. My boyfriend and I have an 11 week old puppy, Huw, and we made the decision before we brought him home that he would be crate trained. The breeder we got him from used wood shavings in a kiddie pool and that's where the dogs learned to go potty. We've had him for 2 weeks now, and not once has he pottied in his crate. We did buy him an intermediate size crate so he can use it as an adult, and even though it's too big, he's been good. We are in the same situation...in the crate 6-8 hours a night...then he's blocked off in the kitchen with water, his crate, toys and his potty box. Since he used shavings from day 1, we made a litter box and use wood shavings. When the box is in the house, we do not have any accidents. My goal however, is not to keep the box in the house. As he gets older, I anticipate crating him when we are gone (since he can hold it at night, he'll do well when he's older) or putting him in his 144 sq.ft. dog run when the weather is nice. It's really hard right now, but routine is necessary. We go first thing in the morning (pee & poo), then we go for a 10-15 minute walk an hour later (pee & poo), and then he's in his play area for 5-8 hours. When we get home (around 5:30-7:00pm) he eats and then poos and then eats again about and hour to 90 minutes later and poos just before bed. Pee is another story. He's more prone to do that at any time, and we have yet to get him to ask us to let him out. But in another post of mine, I had some great responses....we shouldn't expect too much right now. They are still very young. Let's just keep working on it, share ideas and know that they are the smartest dogs ever...and will figure it out. Good luck!