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1st off the maximum amopunt of time a puppy should be in a crate is the age in months + 1 (i.e. a 4 month dog shuld be in the crate no longer than 5 hours at a time)
2nd the crate is wonderful as it builds a dog's independence,just make sure you get the puppy when you don't need much sleep[ b/c you will need to ignore the dog when you put him in the crate unless you hear the "bathroom whine" as opposed to the "I want you whine"
3rd dogs learn to love the crate, my chocolate labe prefers to sleep in his crate even when I'm home b/c that's where is he comfortable, his "blue blanket"
4th my dog learned very quickely to go outside to do his business b/c I kept him around me most of the time so I could tell when he started sniffing around at which point I would pick him up&run him outside and when he did his business I would praise him, soon there after he started goign to the door
5th make sure the crate is not too big for the dog, otherwise accidents in the crate are more likely, expect to buy 3-4 crates as the puppy gets bigger
just my $.01359494 worth
Mark
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