I am getting a 12 week old Schipperke, How long can she be left alone in her crate?

Question

I have one schipperke already but he is already 7 years old so we have no problems with him. I'd like to crate train the puppy because I'm in college and there are certain days of the week where I would have to leave her alone for about 5-6 hours. This is only on Tuesdays though. Most other days I will be able to come home in between classes or don't have to be gone for that long. Or my fiance will be able to come home and bring her out. Will she be ok staying home alone for that length of time?

Answer 1

5 or 6 hours is far too long to leave a 12 week old puppy alone in a crate. They can only hold it for 2-3 hours. You are pretty much asking for a mess, and if the puppy gets in the habit of messing in it's crate, then it will be nearly impossible to get him or her out of the habit.
Home alone is not the problem. I used to leave my Schipperke alone for 8 hours while I was at work. The only problem is leaving them in a small space like a crate, with no way to go to the bathroom
What I wound up doing was blocking off the kitchen with a baby gate, and laying down some newspaper. The puppy could use the newspaper while I was gone, and had some freedom to run around. Another idea might be to purchase an exercise pen, if you can't block off your kitchen.
The only issue with being gone for so long, is it's going to take longer to housebreak the puppy. I was gone for 8 hours a day, 4-5 days a week, and it took around 6 months to completely housebreak the puppy. Schipperkes are susposed to be a bit more difficult than other dogs when it comes to housebreaking, too.
When the new puppy is around 8-10 months old, he or she will be big enough (and have the bladder capacity) to hold it for 6-7 hours. Just be sure to let him or her out right before you crate, and right afer you come back.
Hope this helps, and good luck with your puppy!

Answer 2

Of course. Make sure the crate isn't big enough for her to go on one side and sleep on the other but the time length is fine. Just make sure she goes out right before you leave and I would suggest not leaving as much water out for her if your going to be gone longer than 5 hours while she's still young. By 4 months my Rott was in her crate for 8 hours a day while I was at work. You can leave her favorite toy and a old shirt you've worn but she'll probably be sleep the whole time.

Answer 3

lay down a large sheet of linoleum in a spare room in your home (if your have one), Put a large, enclosed exercise pen on top of it. Put papers on one end of the ex-pen over the linoleum. Put a bed, a bowl of water and a few toys on the other end without papers. If the dog was raised to be tidy, the dog will go to the papers to potty if need be. This measure works well with dogs under 6 months of age.