I understood crate training to mean the dog goes into the crate whenever you can not directly supervise him. My husband read where you crate them after you take them out to go potty and they do not produce anything. You leave him in an area of your house that is not carpet when you are not home. I leave my 5 mo lab out most of the time when I am home but crate him at night for sleeping and when I am not home to supervise him:confused: We left him in the kitchen area and he trashed the desk ate my glasses and papers. My husband thinks he should have a larger area so he doesn't get too bored. Well if not being bored means I come home to a trashed kitchen then Back he goes in the crate when I am not home. :rolleyes:

I have a puppy of the same age. I'm afraid bored puppies are very destructive and the more intelligent they are, the more likely they are to get bored! Crates are great for housetraining but your husband is right, you can't put your puppy in the crate for hours on end as well as all night for sleeping. He needs to play! Can you get a neighbor or a friend to come over and play 'fetch' with him? He is only a puppy for such a short time and getting it right now will pay dividends for years to come.

I would never leave a young Lab loose when nobody could watch it. I have never had any problems leaving very young puppies 4-5 hours in a crate. I hate to see any dog left much longer than that. If your work schedule requires you to leave a dog longer than that, it would be better to have a neighbor or a professional dog walker come and give it a mid day break. I like doggy day care once they are past the earliest puppy stage.

A very young puppy, and some older ones need constant attention or to be crated. Accidents and damaged possessions are the fault of whoever was watching the puppy. When you are watching it, immediately correct it as soon as it goes for anything except its own toys. In a quiet, but firm voice give it an ''Ah, ah, ah!''. Gently remove what ever and replace it with one of her toys, or if older, hold eye contact until the puppy drops it.

The "shut the puppy in a safe room" is a fallacy. Very few houses even have a
Safe room. How many of us have a room with a hard surfaced floor and nothing
Else? Most rooms have electrical cords to chew if nothing else. In addition
To destroying anything a bored puppy finds to chew, it may choke or have
Intestinal blockage from the pieces. I had a friend that left her dog in a
"safe" room. It ate a hole in the floor covering. The safe rooms fail to
Give the dog the comfort of the enclosed space their instinct requires. Nor
Do they restrict activity extending the time the dog can go without relieving
Itself.

One of the places your husband may have read about crating a puppy that didn't relieve itself is the sticky starting at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/information-articles-our-dogs-expert-labman-53153.html#post251802 I am moving more towards the idea that the better you learn to read the puppy, the fewer and fewer unsuccessful trips outside you will have.

Yes, you are being told this and that. What you need to do is identify who has training and successful experience, and ignore the others. There are plenty knowing little more than you, willing to give you advice.

So Politically Correct has a puppy. I am on my 18 'th since 1991. I have never had a problem with leaving even 7 week old puppies for 4-5 hours through the day. They get plenty attention and exercise when I am home. I really resent having a neophyte giving me a reddie.

My puppy cries and whines threw the night.. to the point where I have to take him out because of neighbours trying to sleep? What can be done when this happens?

Ahhh the joys of crate training! It isn't always easy but it has, in my opinion, proven to be the best method of housebreaking pets that you haven't had since birth. When I got my Siberain Husky he was between four and five months old and had never been socialzied with humans or dogs other than his littermates. Needless to say I ended up in a real pickle. He was terrified of his own shadow and I didn't want to turn him into a scared biter by trying to discipline him, but we live in town and he had to be housebroken. The first thing I did was research on the breed, which can help you understand why your dog is reacting a certain. Mutt mixes are not nearly so... difficult to gage as they generally seem more balanced, but so much has to do with their life experiences! I found that that because Huskies are work dogs and very intelligent that in addition to crate training I would have to walk him daily (which also meant collar and leash training but that's a whole other story). I immediately noticed the destruction begin to taper off and then cease completely. I had a very large bedroom and spent the bulk of my time in there on my computer, playing my ps2, reading, etc and he only got to come out of his crate when I was home. The first thing I did when I got home was take him and we stayed out until he went (rationing their water and food will help with this). If he didn't go when I took him out, I would feed & water him in his kennel and wait for about an hour and then try again. If he still didn't go, I'd let him out but keep in in the room with me keeping half an eye on him, as soon as he started sniffing around I'd ask him if he wanted to go out (getting excited is a sure way to get them excited) and we'd try again. If he screwed up, he was shown what he did and put outside with the offending mess. It didn't take him long to get it. The hardest part is diligence on your part. Good luck.

I have gone through the trauma of a new puppy's first night alone 17 times with me own puppies, and at least 4 of other people's that I remember. It has been much easier since one desperate night when my puppy had set the neighbors' dogs barking, aI needed my sleep. I tried lying down in front of the crate like I was going to sleep there. I talked soothingly to the puppy. It relaxed and soon fell asleep allowing me to go to bed too. Chloroform would hardly be more effective for a young puppies first night alone.

That technique and much more reflecting my extensive experience, training, and study are in the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/information-articles-our-dogs-expert-labman-53153.html#post251802

Notice my housebreaking advice starts advising against any punishment of the puppy for your inattention.