Things are going much better with training the puppy to go outside! Thank goodness! Now we're concerned about how long she's in the crate. I've seen opinions on both sides of the fence. Some say it's OK to leave her in there during the day while at work (which means she's also in the crate during night time for sleep). Is this too much crate time?

I have found that even 7 week old puppies can usually go 4-5 hours. I hate to see even older dogs left longer than that except at night. Look for a neighbor or dog walker to give her a mid day break. Until they are 3 months old, they need a third meal too.