# When to expand the crate...



## GoldenWA (Apr 29, 2015)

Hi All,

My question is...when should you expand your puppy's his crate?

*Background:*
Our puppy has been busy growing. He's a "toy" golden retriever (approx 70% Golden, 30% Cocker) and is 16 weeks old. We are still crate training him and planning to for a while until he's mastered his potty training.

He's in a "medium" sized crate that's made for a dog up to about 75 lbs (or at least that's what it says). I'm using the divider in it to shrink it down to about 1/2 size.

Our pup is about 13-15lbs right now but when he stretches out he's pretty long. Our end goal is to give our dog free reign around the house once he's older (not chewing on everything) and fully potty trained. We know we have a while to go.

*Question:*
I feel as though our pup can't fully extend/stretch himself out with the room he has in the crate. But it's certainly big enough according to his weight and height and the crate specifications. Should I keep the crate 1/2 sized or is part of the process of potty training/giving him more room increasing the size of his crate?

As always, thanks for any input!

If you need more info - ask away and I'll get back to you a.s.a.p.


----------



## gingerwrinklepup (May 19, 2015)

GoldenWA said:


> Hi All,
> 
> My question is...when should you expand your puppy's his crate?
> 
> ...


The pup should be able to stand up and stretch when laying down. I'd open it up big enough to do that if you can gradually increase. If it's half or full just make sure the whole crate is filled with the bed. They are less likely to soil on their bed than they are if there's an open area. Make sure you're taking out to the toilet regular enough though!


----------



## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I give my puppy enough room to stretch out.

By 16 weeks he should be potty trained enough that he can hold it in his crate for however long he's in there (assuming he hasn't had accidents), so giving him a bit more space shouldn't set him back.


----------

