house-training a rescue

Question
Hi Kristin,
Thank you for your time and service. In about a month I will be adopting a rescued stray. He appears to be a teacup Pom or Pom-mix; he weighs 4lbs and currently has heart-worms, which is why I have to wait to adopt. The rescuer keeps him in a doggie diaper and I was concerned about house-training him. I wanted to use the crate method with a soft-crate, but the dog is already about 5 years old so I know it will be difficult. Something that concerns me is that she said dogs this small can rarely hold their need to eliminate 8 hours. Have you seen this to be the case? I cannot come from home from work and am wondering if I should just start training using potty pads right away or always keep him in a diaper. Or is it possible that with proper training he can hold it for 8 hours? I mean, in the end, he weighs four pounds, how much damage can it be? I just want to do what is right for the dog. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
I think putting him in a pen and using puppy pads is the best way to go. It varies from dog to dog,but I have worked in a kennel and seen small dogs hold it over night-though some do not. But by using the pads at least it will only be in one spot rather then just anywere. Small dogs pick up on this method pretty fast