I put a small crate in the puppy pen at 6 weeks and the pups play, sleep and climb on it. I have the door off so they don't get shut in or out.
I put pups in their crates to sleep all night their last week (about 8 weeks). For the first night I put the pup in with an adult or another puppy and they sleep in my bedroom. Depending on how they do I then put one puppy in a small crate and put the crate on my bed. In this way I can tell what is going on with the pup and take him out to potty if necessary. I find that by 8 weeks most of them can go all night. I get up fast as soon as there is any action in the house and take them out!
The pups that are going to fly home (in the cabin only!) sleep in the soft crate that will fit under the airline seat. I take these pups for outings in the car in their airline crate so they get used to noise and motion in the crate.
When the pups are in the crate at first they will protest! If they are crying I wait for a pause, however small, then drop in a treat or stick my fingers in the crate to soothe them. It is very important to ignore them when they are crying in the crate...wait for the pause, it always comes!
All of the pups have had a good first night home, some have needed to get up and potty or perhaps whined a bit, but none have gone crazy their first night in their new home.
I also sleep in the family room on the couch their last few weeks here. I potty them at about 12 midnight and again at 5am. I have only had one pee in the crate the last week I was doing this. I do put them in the crates for about 15-30 minutes several times a day their last week here.
My families have all been grateful for this introduction to their life in their new home.
