Food in the crate??

Well, going by my previous experiances, that is not a good idea. He could trip over it, or spill it, making a mess and going crazy trying to reach for the food between his crate bars. However, dogs differ.
 
One idea is an automatic food dispenser put in his crate, though they are rather expensive. A better idea, in my opinion, is to move his schedule a little. When do you leave in the morning? When do you get back? Can you dash home to feed him during your lunch break? Maybe you should sit down and come up with a new schedule. Another suggestion is to get a neighbor over to feed him, and take away his food bowl after.
 
However, feeding him when you're not home means he will need to relieve himself after. He will be forced to go in his crate if you don't arrive home in time, meaning a break in his housebreaking habits. Some dogs hold it better than others, but I still don't like taking chances
 
What to do, it's up to you. There are pros and cons for both choices, but if worse comes to worse, consider feeding him twice a day, increasing the amount he's fed. A dog can't starve to death, and he'll still be getting the nutrition he needs - just for longer periods of time in-between.
 
Good Luck!

A small dog like that will very quickly become hypoglycemic, you either need to get him on a regular feeding schedule 2-3 times a day or you have no choice but to leave food in the crate. If this dog is reliably house trained I wouldn't worry about accidents, as much as hypoglycemia. How old is this dog?

Thanks for your responses.

I *can* scoot home during my break, but I teach Kindergarten, so at the beginning of the year, I hardly get any break at all! I do have a neighbor I can ask, but I'm reluctant.......

The puppy is NOT reliably housetrained AT ALL! He is only 12 weeks old; we've had him for 4 weeks. He is "crate-trained" very nicely! But when left to his own devices outside of his crate, inside the house, he will leave little puddles and piles all over. As he becomes more reliable, we will certainly let him roam the kitchen area (at least) while we're gone for the day.

We will be gone for 7 hours. I can't imagine not feeding him during that time, but I also can't imagine feeding him in his crate -- won't that make him have to *go*???

Ah, to be a stay-at-home mom!!!

We will be gone for 7 hours. I can't imagine not feeding him during that time, but I also can't imagine feeding him in his crate -- won't that make him have to *go*???

Ah, to be a stay-at-home mom!!!

lol
 
No, I don't think so but even so, he needs food, he's is too small not to have it. If you can get him on a schedule of 3 X a day he will be OK later on. Although at 12 weeks I don't think he can hold it for 7 hours, Glenda hopefully will be by and let you know if that is correct or not.

I know that there is a guideline about a puppy being able to "hold it" for one hour more than his age in months. Our pup is 3 months old, but can hold it all night long (from 10 - 7!!) without any problem at all.

Is it different during the day?

I think my next pet will be another cat (can you tell this is my first dog ever?!?!)......LOL!

I wouldn't suggest it for such a small dog like a chi. The pup isn't even housebroken, letting him have food in there would only worsen things.

Is it different during the day?

Yes when they are sleeping they can hold it.

So, lots of responses, but I still don't know what to do - LOL!

If 7 hours too long for him to go without food, is it okay to put it in his crate? (or is it only okay if I can come home and let him out? or is it never okay?)

I feel bad coming home just for a brief time, getting him all excited just to let him out and then leave him alone again.

ORIGINAL: purpleruby
I feel bad coming home just for a brief time, getting him all excited just to let him out and then leave him alone again.

 
I understand this completely. I used to feel this way, but if you have to leave him in the crate and you can make it home for even just 15 minutes, it would be well worth it in my opinion. You want your dog to become potty trained and by leaving him the crate that long with no potty breaks, that will never happen since he's currently not reliable. You want to make sure he's fed as well, so if there is any way you can make it home, I would try and do so.
 
You can also board him if you need too. I had to do that with Ash for a while. I would take her to a kennel because I couldn't leave her at home. Ash has been staying in her crate now. She's a bigger dog than yours, but I feed her breakfast in her kong and leave it with her when I go. Then my mom comes by later that afternoon and lets her out to go potty. Then back into the crate she goes until I get home from work. I'm considering moving closer to work so that I can go home on my breaks and my lunch and let her out myself because my mom can't continue doing this and I can't afford to pay someone to do it.
 
This may, and most likely will be, completely out of the question, but my nephew is in K-5 right now and his teacher has a small breed (not sure which breed) in the classroom, in a crate, all day. The dog is never allowed outside of his crate with the kids from what I know and the teacher gets to have her dog with her all day and takes her to potty breaks during recess and what not, I assume. Is it possible to do that? I don't know all of the details about how this teacher got that approved, but she did. When I was little, their was a rabbit in the classroom all the time. Maybe you could look into that?

Thanks, Sylvia ---
I think I will have to make time to scoot home, let him out, let him eat and drink, and then crate him again (for about 3 more hours). I may look into asking my neighbor to come over as well.

As for taking him to school, I would LOVE to, but we have a "no furry pets" rule, due to the high number of children with allergies.

I'm lucky to live only 6 minutes from work, so I should be able to make this work!

Yeah, I thought that was rare when he told me they had that dog in the class. [] Sure would've been a good idea if you could though.
 
Yeah, if you can make it home, that would be the best bet. I wish so badly that I lived that close to work. I drive an hour to and from work so my poor baby is at home right now, in her crate, waiting for me. It kills me. I really think I will be moving early next year so I can rush home on breaks and lunch. It seems like it's worse by going in and only being with them for a few minutes, but over time and experience, I've learned that it's better. They get to potty and they get used to the routine much faster. They'll just eventually learn it and get used to it.
 
Good luck and I hope it works out!