I agree with what Lisa said. If he's 6 mos old though, he should be able to last in a crate more than 4 hours, but not all day. Assuming he'd also be sleeping in the crate, make sure you remove water an hour or two before bedtime, so that he won't have an emergency during the night.
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Originally Posted by LPIDelta
Its important to note that if you catch him doing something he shouldn't, you need to correct it right then with some force (I mean get his attention, not hit him or anything.)
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I'm gonna disagree with this a little. You have to be very careful trying to "correct" a dog, because what you may view as "correction" he will probably view as attention. So, for example, if you try to correct his jumping up on you by pushing him down, the message he very well may get is that jumping up on you is a good way to get your attention. (Good attention, bad attention -- it's all attention.)
The best way to teach him is through positive reinforcement. (You might look for some classes that teach this way in your area.) Step one is to have
plenty of treats. Step two is to get a "clicker." When he does something you want to reinforce, you click and quickly give him a treat. Gradually, as he starts to figure out that when he does X, you like it and give him a treat, you'll start to get that behavior more often and can start adding the verbal cues ("sit" or "down" for example).
This is, of course, a very abridged description.
This site, from the person who (I think) developed clicker training, gives a very good overview of clicker training. Believe me, it works and it helps develop a great relationship between you.
The flip side is basically time out for the dog. If you're at home and he does something inappropriate (such as biting -- many puppies will do this playfully rather than agressively and have to learn that it isn't appropriate play with humans), then calmly put him in his crate for a little time out. He'll get the message before too long that biting = playtime's over. If you're outside or away from home and he does something like that, or jumps on you, cross your arms and look away from him/up toward the sky or ceiling until he calms down a little. This is, essentially, your portable time out. What you're doing is showing him that the behavior will get him
no attention. Again, he'll start to get the message pretty quickly.
Three other things. Bring a blanket or towel that he's been on into the house a day or two before he gets there and let your cat become familiar with his smell.
Read the book
The Other End of the Leash for a good understanding of how dogs "read" or misread us and how we sometimes misread dogs.
And if a messy backyard is starting to be a problem, you might look into
DoodyCalls or a similar outfit.
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