Maggie is a 13 week old silky terrier and she has taken wonderfully to crate training. We have had no accidents (yet). During the day when she is not with one of us she plays in her playpen. Her crate is in the play pen along with her toys, food and water. I am a teacher and will be going back to work in 2 weeks. I do not expect her to be able to wait from 7:45 until 2:45 to go out. There is no way I can come back for lunch and I do not have anyone in the area to take her out. I was wondering what methods would do the least amount of damage to the housetraining progress she has made so far?

Kariann,

Make sure she is fed, pottied and well exercised before you leave for work. Probably will mean getting up an hour earlier that you normally do, but it will be worth it.

Does she make it through the night?

She's going to make messes in either her pen or crate...no way she can go that long and not make a mess. She's a baby.

If you're very lucky she'll confine it to the pen and only when you're not home. Problem is, as you are probably aware, that once she starts doing that the whole concept of "outside to potty" is gone and she may very well feel free to to do her business elsewhere in the home and when you are home.

FWIW, I know a teacher with a toy breed whose puppy was penned during the day for roughly the same amount of time. This dog frequently eliminates in the home and is also quite destructive...even when penned.

I strongly urge you to find someone to come in and walk your dog, play with her, and take her out. Local vets, pet supply stores, and shelters can be good resources for dog walkers.

If you have any kind of relationship with your vet perhaps you can pay one of the techs to come in and walk her during their lunch hour. Vet techs are usually underpaid and might gladly help you out.

Honestly, and I don't mean to be harsh, it seems really unfair to this pup to leave her penned and alone for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week.

 Quote: Lynne Barrows

Does she make it through the night?

That's really the important question.
If she can hold it that long at night, she can hold it that long during the day.

If she still gets up every couple of hours, or at least once during the night, then she definitely can't make it through the day, either.

Like others have offered, get up with the dog earlier, feed her and take her for a nice walk and some zipping around the yard. Make sure she does her business before you put her up.

Are you sure you couldn't just bring her to school in a crate? Like a semi-class pet?

Is the weather good enough that she could be crated in your vehicle, and you could take her for a nice walk and romp during your lunch break?

She does make it through the night. She is very good about letting me know when she needs to go out and has never indicated a need at night. I take her out just before bed and first thing in the morning.

 Quote: alyssa myracle

 Quote: lynne barrows

Does she make it through the night?

That's really the important question.
If she can hold it that long at night, she can hold it that long during the day.

If she still gets up every couple of hours, or at least once during the night, then she definitely can't make it through the day, either.

I agree with this, if she makes it through nighttime, she can make it through the day.

What you could do is try it out now before you go back to work, therefore getting her used to being crated for long periods of time during the day rather than going "cold turkey" so to speak.
That way you will see if you are going to have any issues or not.

And, to add, if you decide to give her free reign in her exercise pen she most certainly will pee or poop when you are gone. (IMO)
Better to leave her crated while you are gone...