GETTING A CRATE? HERE'S WHAT I DID!

According to the puppy, the crate/kennel is their safe place if you decide to raise the puppy indoors. It is wise to purchase a crate that would fit the puppy when it grows to its full size too. But some pawrents prefer getting a small crate and then get a large crate once the puppy is fully grown to its adult size. However, to solve such problems there are some brands which offer you a crate with a divider in it. This divider would be of help to you if you wish to get the large size crate for the puppy. Also, these crates can be folded up and very easy to take with you when you travel.  

If the puppy initially has a lot of space in the crate, then chances are they might sleep on one end and use the other end for making accidents. So, these dividers will help you in deciding how much space is enough for preventing the puppy from having any accidents inside the crate.

From my personal experience with Troy, we have a coupe car and we could initially purchase a crate of a size that would fit in the car only. This was perfect with the divider and he soon understood, the crate is his safe place and he can be calm in there. However, soon with 6 months of age, Troy grew out it. Hence, we got him a play pen and extended a little more space for him to be. As we did this, we found that it was too much space and he began destroying the carpet on the floor (as Labs can get needy to destroy things so as to seek attention or show us that they are annoyed). So, we easily made the playpen into the size of the crate with an opening above and used the rest of the leftover sides to use as gates to restrict him in certain areas of the house. To avoid him from destroying the carpet, we purchased the crate pan for the bottom which is less expensive than buying a big crate so late.

Another important factor to consider for the first few weeks is not to use a blanket or bed right away until when the puppy begins to understand that is used for him to settle down. If not, there are a lot of chances that the puppy could chew on the bed/blanket available. This would become a wrong teaching for the puppy to chew on anything like clothes or fabric which in-turn could make them chew on the furniture.

It's a big decision to figure out what suits the puppy and for you! Think about it :)