Thank you for adopting your puppy from a shelter and thank you for realizing that a puppy cannot be expected to *hold it* for very long. A good guideline is as many hours as months the puppy is old, but even that is pushing it a little. The process of getting a puppy used to a crate is a slow process and obviously you have been thrust into the situation quite quickly. I'm going to leave the advice for this area to those of us who have had more experience in this than I have had. I hope that when you are at home, Sadie does not have to be in her crate, except for bedtime. Being in there all day long, she is going to need a lot of mental and physical exercise at other times. I would like to recommend a book called Good Owners, Great Dogs by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson. I know they also have a website which I will try to locate for you. Good luck and thanks for joining us here at Pet Talk.

I found it: GreatPets.com

[ August 16, 2001: Message edited by: RachelJ ]