I have a new puppy who is doing well with crate training. He is also doing well with 'house breaking' I am getting him into a routine and keep a diary of his days activities. He will be 13 weeks old when I have to return to work. Is it OK to leave him in his crate in our small kitchen for 4hrs at a time? Also, should I leave a bowl of water in the crate or buy a drinking bottle? Can I leave his fleece and puppy toys in the crate? Any advice would be appreciated.

I've never had a crate trained dog. My dog stays in the house and doesn't tear anything up. Its not good to leave a dog for so long. Anxiety can turn into excitement which could turn into aggression is there any one who could take him for a walk and play with him during the day even if just for 30 minutes.

Personally I think he should be able to handle 4 hours, esp if you have been working with crating him while you are home. The chewy toys/blankie not so much if he is the type of dog that will rip them to shreds.
Before I left I would make sure we had play time , a drink and a chance to pee/poo.
My guess is as long as he is comfortable he will sleep most of the time while you are away. Just make sure he gets plenty of people time and freedom when you are not working.

Tahnks for that 'bushg'. I intend to play with him for at least 15mins before leaving him as well as some training time. I will be in to feed him at lunchtime, let hime in the garden to 'do business' any then play. Mainly, I am not sure if its OK to leave the water bowl on his crate floor (especially as he won't be used to it being there) I guess this is what other dog owners do though if they crate?

I wouldn't advise leaving the water bowl if it'll only be for four hours. Just make sure he gets a chance to drink before he goes into the crate. Not only can the water bowl thing get messy, he may drink just because he's bored.

4 hours is OK, he can handle that. No water is necessary for that amount of time.

Thanks for that... I did think that he should be able to go 4 hours without water (and he would probably only spill it if it was in the crate!) Its just that you always hear people say that they must have access to clean water at all times so I just wanted to get some opinions... so thanks

I have a 7mos old puppy, he is crated at night and during the day when I have to go out I have him in an open play pen type of gate with his bed, water and chew toy in the kitchen. He kept spilling his water bowl until I went to Petco and purchased a bowl that can be attached to the gate. He never spills it now. I also have a product called Wiz Dog for his wee wee pads. Go to Wiz dog.com for info if you are interested. I try not to leave him for more than 4 hours but in case I have to I am not stressing that he has no water or a place to go potty. He mostly sleeps when I am gone because when I get back he is yawning and his bed is warm.