We got a 7 week old min pin last week (now 8 weeks old). We have put him in his crate every night since we got him(we filled half his crate with a box to make it smaller). Both my husband and I work 8 hour days. I come home 11:45-12:30 or so then husband comes home about 4:15. Our puppy has done GREAT with eliminating outside! Doesn't cry at night (we take him out every 3-4 hours at night) and doesn't eliminate at night in his crate. This weekend has been a long weekend due to holiday (and we've been home everyday) and our puppy has peed in his crate each day. We are still taking him out as often. Could it be because he isn't on his normal schedule? Should we wait and see how he does this week? Any advice? We put his blanket in his crate also, should we continue to do this? Would it be better to have him be in the bathroom with potty pads while he's alone until he gets older? How long will it take till we have him enough potty trained to trust him alone not in his crate? Any advice would be great! Thanks!

This is an ENORMOUSLY long time to leave an 8 week old puppy crated.

He is used to peeing in his crate when you're not home.

Making the crate smaller forces him to live in his own waste.

Is this your first dog?

You will need to expect adjustments for a few weeks, and mistakes. He might have peed this holiday just from excitement. My current dog peed in front of me at first every time I called her, and she was full grown. She peed when praised, LOL. Each dog will be a little different, and as long as you are full of loving and holding and playing and praising a LOT, don't worry too much about the small stuff like which blanket. A brand new puppy, however, will be anxious when you leave him to go to work, and perhaps you could hire a sitter for an extra hour a day for a while.

Joypulv, Thank you for advice! This is our first dog, and we just want to make sure we are doing what we are suppose to to help him learn plus still like his crate. Keep the awesome advice coming!!

Yikes.. this pup is spending too much time in the crate!

He is peeing in his crate because he just simply has to!

You need to find a different way of housing this pup while you are at work.. this dog is practically living in his crate. You may be doing everything you can while working and taking care of a puppy, but he is just not getting out enough. He is learning to hold his bladder, he is exercising his bladder muscle. House training is not just training the mind, you are also training the body. 8 hours day after day is way to long! If that were my pup, I would almost expect it.

Doggy day care, blocking off a specific room, such as a laundry room or something where the pup can at least move around.. Depending on the dog and your abilities, maybe even a kennel run snugged up to your house with a dog door in and out. The kennel runs have tops to them so that nothing can happen to the pup... It'll make your lives a lot better!

There really is no exact advise on how to teach this puppy to hold his bladder.. 8 hours is just too darn long!