Use 2 crates or not?

[cfireboss]

I have been reading about crate training and noticed that several people use two crates for their furry children, one for night and one for daytime. My wife and I have been talking about using a playpen for the day and using the crate at night. I know as Aiden gets older he will be able to get out of the playpen, but do not want my wife to have to move the crate from one room to another as I work a 24hr shift.

Question: Is the playpen a good idea, or will my pup get confused during house and crate training?

The crate will not be used as a punishment tool, but would like to give him some leg room during the day when we are not here.

All advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Caney Creek]

That ALL depends on how often you are able to let him out during the day. Six month old puppies need to eliminate at least once every 5-6 hours, so if your schedule allows this then crating him would be fine. If you cannot let him out that often then a pen would be a better choice, however if he isn't fully housebroken yet he may have some accidents.

 

[Althea]

Prior to my current living situation, I always had two crates. One in my bedroom and one in the living room. Never had a problem. Each had towels and toys in them. Because my home is much smaller now, we have one crate. But either should be fine.

 

[cfireboss]

Thank you.

Thanks for the great info. Aiden will not be home until the 19th of this month, so we will see how the crate training goes. Just trying to get a few things answered before he gets home.

 

[Caney Creek]

Thanks for the great info. Aiden will not be home until the 19th of this month, so we will see how the crate training goes. Just trying to get a few things answered before he gets home.

I'm sorry, I must have gotten your post and the one below it confused because in my last post I referenced how often 6 month old pups need to go out to eliminate.... If your pup is coming home at 8 weeks, he will need to eliminate at least once every 2 hours for at least the first month, so during that time if you are crating him you must be able to let him out every 2 hours at the longest. When he's 3 months old you can stretch it to 3 hours, and then to 4 hours when he's 4 months old, and so on. So in order to properly crate-train a puppy you have to be able to let him out as often as he needs to eliminate, otherwise you'd be asking him to hold it longer than he's physically capable to, which would inevitably mean he'd eliminate in the crate and therefore be learning that that is OK to do.