I just orderd the 8 wks to 8 mos puppy video so I am waiting on that. I have a 7 wk min pin. I ve had the pup for 4 days. I ve had the crate but didnt use it for him when I first got him. I dont think he was crated at the breeders. At first he slept with me in my bed snuggled right next to me. I know bad. He never woke up he slept through the night. Yesterday I started crating to prep. I had him in there from 1000 to noon came home from lunch for an 1.5 hrs and returned at 515...the rest of the night he hangs out with me (he naps with me while I watch TV...is that bad?) But when I crated him for the night (11pm-6am) I took him out at 2am and he did his things. I don't think he stopped barking at all last night. Well, when I woke up this morning to let him out he had piddled in the crate. The question is will he eventually stop piddling or since he did it will he continue to do it? I dont know if it was all the barking he did worked him up. I have a 8 mo pug who i didnt crate train...I had the advantage of being off of work for a month or so to watch him...he just slept in there sometimes. Otherwise he slept in my room, but he uses the doggie door to do his thing. Eventually hopefully the min pin will be doing this when I am at work. (sorry about the long post)

check out this article from Leerburg:
http://www.leerburg.com/housebrk.htm
It is about housebreaking but covers crate training, both will help answer your questions.

Theresa, is the crate for your min-pin in your bedroom beside your bed at night? I know that made my puppy much quieter and I got sleep. Go figure they didn't like being alone at the other end of the house?

He is down in the basement. I will try to bring him in the bedroom since its the weekend. But he cries while hes in there when we are in the car or if I am hanging in the kitchen or showering. Today he was ok. I left the door open and i checked on him and he was lying in there. But there was no where else for him lay besides the concrete. Hopefully it will get better over the course of the next few weeks.

Make sure he eats in his crate, has a toy or two in there for activity (like a Kong stuffed with cream cheese), and spends any time you cannot supervise him in his crate. This will make it his happy home and save you the trouble of clean-up while he's being housebroken.
If he cries in his crate then he needs to stay in it until he is quiet. If you cater to him when he cries, he will learn that every time he cries he'll get attention. Once this habit has started it is extremely hard to break because he will try to outlast your refusal to comfort him. The more the owner gives in, the longer the wait is the next time until he calms and quiets.
Another thing that can prevent him from being anxious while in his crate is to make the calmest, most non-emotional release from his crate. After letting him out, ignore him for a few minutes to let him calm down and once he's gotten over the initial excitement that your home, pet him in a normal calm way. If you were to rush in and coo over him and baby talk him right when you get home, it would cause him to think he was being rescued from some kind of punishment, when we want him th know his crate really is his own little home that is a positive place.
Min Pins are a pretty yappy and hyper breed and I know of a few with some seperation anxiety tendencies. If I were you, I'd get this dog used to the crate as soon as possible. It will save you tons of headaches and re-training later.
Hope this helps! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

While I know others say it's fine to keep a new puppy at the far end of the house. And say to 'wait the puppy out, eventually he'll have to stop making a fuss' I can mentally agree with.

While I don't really agree at all. I personally do NOT agree with this for a brand new tiny baby pup that has spent it's ENTIRE life surrounded by, on top of, under, with, among and SAFE with it's littermates and mother. Suddenly, still tiny, not only are these pups taken from everyone and everything they know, they are also left all alone, alot.

And though OBVIOUSLY I crate my pups and they are alone when I am at work, I truly cannot prevent this. But when I am home. And my new puppy knows I am home. Hears and smells me just a few rooms away. Why would I be surprised when they do the NATURAL thing puppies are meant to do when they get lost or separated from the rest of their pack. They carry on so the pack can find them.

I just feel that these pups of our are having to go thru enough new things we cannot prevent, why add another that is NO BIG DEAL. Just to prove we can? Or that we have 'rules' and they will be followed? To put a crate beside my bed was easy. To have my puppy smell hear me and feel safe all night was easy. For me to get a full night sleep (except for the mid-night pee break for the pup) EASY.

My 9mo Pug sleeps in my room on his pillow in my room he has slept in there since he was 4 mos. Yes, I do not like the idea of the puppy being alone and crated. But EVERYONE I talked to said they did the crate training to house break them. I feel bad that I have him crated all day while i am at work when i go to bed. The first few days i just left him out of his crate with my pug but during my reading of housebreaking crating was the solution of everyone. I was thinking of crating the pug with him but I didnt think he would like that. I will try putting the crate next to my bed and maybe sleep with some headphones <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Theresa, I'm not against cratetraining. I LOVE CRATE TRAINING! Heck, I've got my 1 year old GSD still in the crate when I'm not home, but she has graduated to being out at night.

I'm just against the 'keep the crate at the far end of the house come heck or high water' that some people follow for their pups at night. While I can't say that scars your pup for life, and probably doesn't. It just seems like that is one thing we do NOT have to do, with all the other training and stressful stuff we do, have to do (enough with the 'do's already!).

CRATES ROCK!

Last night I let him sleep in my room in his crate...after 1.5 hrs he finally stopped whining. I was so tired cause I had been awake for almost 20 hours so I kind of slept through his tantrum with my fingers in the slots of the crate... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> But when he woke up at 430 he had piddled in his crate before I could get up and take him outside. I guess I have to make the area smaller.

Theresa, really young pups actually can't make it thru the night. It's why I used to set my alarm clock for around 2 am. That way I'd wake up, scoop the pup up for a quick run outside and a pee/poop, and there would still be enough of the night left I could get more sleep before I had to get up for real.

Fingers in the crate is exactly how I used to sleep! That too will pass though, soon just being able to hear you voice/breathing/moving will be enough.