Puppy in pen and housebreaking

Question
Hi, we have an 18 week mini dacshund.  She sleeps in a crate at night and makes it through from about 10:30 until 4:430-5 am when we get up.  During the day she is either on a leash with us so we can watch for accidents or chewing.  We got a steel pen a few weeks ago and it is about 3 by 2 feet.  We place it in an area where she can see us moving about the house and only use it for about 30 mintues max, toys are placed in there, sometimes a small treat upon entering.  She has begun to bark or whine when in there.  We ignore her until she is quiet and dont put her in if we think she needs to potty.  How do we deal with behavior?

Also, we are struggling with the day time potty training.  We could have just come in from peeing and she will go on the floor inside the pen.  It would seem that she should be able to go at least an hour without having to go outside, we feel like we have to take her out every 30 minutes to prevent accidents, which makes for a loooong day! How do we build up her ability to stay dry in the pen for a bit?  thanks

Answer
Hi Lori,
Thanks for the question. The key to remember about crate training is that the crate needs to be JUST big enough so your puppy can walk in, turn around, stretch and lie down. If it is too big, your puppy will go potty in one corner and sleep in another. Unless you are using a divider, your crate is too big.

You should ignore her when she is barking and periodically reward when she is quiet. It is important to put her in there (and close the door) periodically during the day so she gets used to bing in there.

During the day she should be able to hold it approximately one hour per month of age. At night she might be able to hold it longer.

The best thing do to from here is to watch my   housetraining videos. They will give you the whole plan.

Good luck.