first few days of puppy.. pls help..

I would not leave crate-training up to the puppy if I were you. If you wait until a puppy "willingly" go to his crate and peacefully stay in his crate, you may be waiting for a long long time.

 I would just pick up the little guy and put him in the crate. Give him a few treats when you first put him in. And that's it. End of story. There's no willing or unwilling involved. I really don't care if he wants or doesn't want to go. Pup has to go in the crate when I say so and pup stays in the crate until I decide to let him out. He can scream bloodly murder all he wants ... but it's a battle you have to win.

neupane00

. DONT force puppy into crate initially (make him feel like its his home not punishment

I never just slap a puppy in a crate and walk away.  I do start almost as soon as I've gotten a puppy home to crate train.  I throw a tasty, tiny treat in the back of the crate.  Door remains open.  Repeat this a few times.  Stop and take puppy outside to potty.  Praise exuberantly and treat when finished pottying.  Keep the pup on a leash when outside to potty.  Back inside and more crate games.  Throw a soft toy in back of the crate.  Door is still open.  Now some treats again.  When the puppy is completely comfortable going in the crate, shut the door for a second or two.  Open right away before any kind of stress can build.   Repeat this as often as you can, extending the time the door is shut.  Don't make a big deal about opening the door.  All neutral on your part.  Feed meals in the crate.  Some pups don't ever mind the crate and others act like their world has ended.  I don't let a puppy out when it's crying and barking.  It's up to you to be proactive and make sure the puppy doesn't have to pee or poo before you put it in the crate.  Provide a chew toy and a soft towel for the puppy. 

Your pup will most likely not soil the crate when left for a few hours, most dogs won't soil their beds.  I keep puppies in my sight at all times.  Some people leash the puppy to them but this doesn't work if you get distracted on the phone or the computer.  I take pups outside after naps, after meals, after play and at random times if it's been more than an hour since they last eliminated.  Feeding on a schedule will help you and the puppy get on a schedule for poo. 

I keep a puppy's crate in the bedroom near my bed.  I can hear the pup when it wakes up and starts moving around and take it outside to potty before it starts to cry.  If I miss the sound of movement and the pup wakes me crying, I take them outside on a leash.  Take a flashlight and make sure the puppy goes.  You will spend much time waiting as the puppy explores and smells and does everything but potty....lol   Don't make this a time for playing or petting.  Praise the pup when it eliminates and treat but don't set the puppy up to think that it can get out and play rather than do his business.  When you take him back inside put him back in the crate and don't give in if he fusses.  You may lose some sleep for a few nights but rarely will it take more than a week to crate train a puppy.

Good luck and you will be fine.  Please post some pictures when you get your puppy.  

My personal suggestion would be to take one or two days where you don't leave the house for long and focus diligently on crate training. If you do it right (and with a lot of puppies, though not all) you can make a lot of headway with crate training in a short amount of time if you train frequently in very short bursts.

Forcing a dog into a crate may work, but it also has the the chance of completely backfiring, and scaring a puppy away from the crate. You won't know which will happen with your dog, so IMO, it's best not to even try it. If it does backfire, and it scares the puppy or freaks it out, you'll have even MORE work ahead of you.

So, I'd start early and train frequently (I really do mean frequently!) in short bursts throughout the day. So, as frequently as possible, get up and get the puppy in the crate by feeding him in there, putting super tasty treats and toys, and generally making being in the crate a fun and exciting thing. You can even play fetch and throw the toy into the crate. Very quickly, if you do not force a puppy in and the puppy is not afraid of the crate, you will have a puppy readily entering and exiting a crate for treats and toys. Once the dog is happy going in and out, you can close the crate door for a microsecond, and then open it. Sloooowly extend the time the crate door is closed, and make sure that you constantly are reinforcing being in the crate. So rain treats down into the crate through the door!

When you start closing the crate door, ignore the puppy for a minute or two after you re-open the door and let the puppy out. This helps create the association that crate = fun, while not in crate = boring.

As you slowly start extending the time frame the puppy is in the crate, you can get up, walk around the room, go into a different room, leave the house, etc. Just make sure to slowly increase the criteria, and if you bring in a new variable (say getting up and walking around), decrease the others (length of time in crate).  Just do this extremely frequently throughout the day, and make it fun and exciting and low pressure, and it shouldn't take too long until you can easily leave the dog in the crate for awhile when you leave the house.

While you continue crate training, make sure you crate the puppy at random intervals throughout the day while you stay at home. You do not want to create an association of crate = you leaving. 

 as for the potty training while inside the house - never let pup outta your site. With Bella i actually had her leash attatched to me so if i couldn't totally watch her ( say I was doing dishes or something), I knew she was not wandering around being up to no good.  Take your pup out very often, if you even think the thoughts 'well he should be ok for the night' take him out! LOL, praise the crap outta em when they go outside.

 I got lucky, Zoe likes her crate & slept in it great last night.

 Can't wait to see pics of your new pup!!

 This is how I have crate trained both times I did it:

First, make sure that the crate is the right size.  Too small and the dog will not be comfy, too big and he will have to incentive to "hold it" when he feels heneeds to pee.  He will just pee one end and rest the other.  It should be just big enough that he can sit up, lie down, stretch out and turn round comfortably, but no bigger. 

Second, make sure it's is in a good spot; somewhere near you for preference, (especially at night) and away from draughts or sources of heat.

Third, make it COMFY and inviting for the dog.  Drape a sheet over it (if it is a wire one) to make it more like a den.  Fill it with squashy bedding.  Hide a couple of special (smelly!) treats and toys in there.  Leave an old worn shirt of your in there, with your scent on it, as well as a piece of bedding from his first home isf possible - this will have all the familiar scents on it, incluing his dam and littermates.

When I first bring a pup home, I carry them straight to the garden and put them down there.  They are very likely to pee - make sure you have a tidbit on you for this occasion, and use lots of praise.  Then I take them indoors and I take them to the crate, but leave the door open.  I let them explore the crate without pressure - the smelly treat and the toys encourage this, and they set a good precedent in the dog's mind.  First impressions count, and his first impression of the crate is that it is a Good Place.

The first night, I go to bed as last as I can (I also get up early) and I take the pup out to toilet right before bed and then I let him sleep in his crate in my room, near to me.   If he has had a fully and busy day (especially evening) he is likely to drop off to sleep with no trouble, especially as your bedroom "smells" of sleep and is a restful place.  Be matter of fact about it - if you are anxious, if you feel you are being "mean", putting him "in a cage, poor puppy", he will just pick up on this from you and will be ore likely to make a fuss.

Your nearness should be enough to reassure him if he needs it, or a few quiet "shhhs" and a soothing tone of voice.  I set an alarm to wake me in the middle of the night for a toilet break (if he makes a noise because he needs to pee, I then have to "reward" him for making a noise by letting him out, and I don't want to do that!)    You MUST prevent accidents in the crate, if you are using it to house train the pup - it is the GOLDEN RULE!

The pup is fed all meals, chews, bones and kongs IN his crate, with the door closed.  At first, something safe to chew on is a handy way to distract him if I need to confine him because I can't supervise him for a short time.  I am at *home* initially, and the pup gets lots of short, enjoyable periods enclosed in the crate, always opening the door BEFORE he becomes restless.  This is important if you want him to like his crate, because if he starts making a fuss you have 2 poor options: 1) Let him out so that he doesn't hate the crate, but reward him for the noise so that he is more likely to do it next time he wants to come out OR 2) Leave him in there until he is quiet, but risk him starting to dislike confinement or even risk an accident IN the crate. 

The time he is left confined there is gradually extended, and the crate is always accessible when the dog is NOT in there, so he can choose to go in, and he usually does, very quickly.

All puppies need to eliminate very soon after eating, drinking and waking.  Exercise, excitement and anxiety can also cause them to need to "go".  So this dictates when the pup is taken out.  He is also taken outside any time he looks like he needs to go (circling, sniffing, pacing) and anytime that he hasn't been out for a while.  So very frequently!  He is well rewarded for all successful pee breaks, and never scolded for mistakes.