6 Hours is way too much time for a puppy to spend in a crate. Fullstop.

Maybe a compromise would be for you to buy a puppy playpen? This way the puppy has room to play with a few toys, has a bed if they want to sleep and access to a water bowl whilst you're at work.


You are doing actual damage to your puppy if you continue leaving it alone in a crate for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week (i presume). I want you to imagine being locked in a small single bedroom for 6 hours a day - you'd be lonely, frustrated and you'd wouldn't be developing normally if you were a child.


I didn't mean for that to sound so serious, but it's how I feel.


I really hope that you can set up a better area for your dog to be safe in whilst you're out for so long. I also hope that you can either convince a friend/relative/neighbour to pop in a see/walk/feed your dog in the middle of the day, or that you can afford to spend some money on a dog walker.


You're obviously a conscientious owner to have a dog crate and to have joined a forum to ask questions, but in your case I think more could be done for your puppy.

Good luck

We also have a staffie who is now 6 months old.

Puppies cannot go the whole night at a young age. We crate our puppy at night. From when he first arrived, we followed the one hour per month rule. So when he first came we got up twice in the night to let him out. And then we extended it by one hour per month. Now my oh takes him out at about 11pm, and I get up at 5am to let him out - and he really needs it. We think it is worth this investment to have a happy and confident dog who loves his crate later on.

I also work 3 mornings - and he is left on his own for about 5 hours. We have set up a secure area attached to the crate with water, and a toilet area. Although he hasn't messed in there for about two months, we intend to leave it in place for now until he has the run of the house. We also leave the radio on, and stuff kongs with his food, as well as a good walk first thing.

It might seem a pain to get up at night but they really cannot manage otherwise - I honestly am able to do it without too much disruption, and it is much easier than washing bedding day after day.

Best of luck.