Is it okay to crate my 5-month puppy for 4-5 hours 2x a day?

As long as she is getting her needs met when she is outside the crate, she should be fine for 3-4hrs MAX at a time at that age. I don't recommend longer until after they are 9mo old or so.

Always crate when not attended, and sounds like you are doing that.

I would hire a drop in pet sitter in your area to let out for a potty walk around mind day.

Hi! So exciting and so overwhelming! to have a new pup. While it is so tempting to crate, it’s terribly difficult on them. I know there’s a whole industry that has popped up talking about how they are like wolves and they are cave dwellers, but we know that that is not true. Our puppies react with anxiety to being forced into a crate. Otherwise, there would be no need to lock them in. (Some crate people say they eventually calm down. Of course they do. It is like a baby who is left to cry on their own eventually they realize no one will answer them.) While I don’t advocate abusing our puppies, of course! If I were given the choice between a smack on the nose and being put in a cage for hours, I don’t know any person who wouldn’t choose a smack on the nose. I say that to suggest that it is worth the arduous task of training them not to pee where they should not. Meanwhile, I love your idea of the extended play area. Maybe a heavier blanket made for a car that you could tie down so your pup doesn’t lift it up into it? (By the way, I listened to all the cage people when we got our pup. I did it for two weeks and I can still feel the anxiety in our house with our puppy crying. I was stressed, my daughter was stressed, and my husband finally convinced us it was unnatural to put our puppy in a cage. Our house changed immediately back in to a home with our new little family member.) another idea… I ran an ad on craigslist and I traded days with someone else. I kept her puppy for a day or two and she kept mine. It didn’t help for every day, but it helped a lot. Almost always the person who had the pups was home, but even if we were not home for a little while, they would have a company. Enjoy your new baby 💗🐶

It sounds like you need to focus on housetraining your puppy. Working full time presents a challenge for sure. I recommend you visiting https://dogsthat.com. There is a wealth of info of video podcasts by well known dog trainer Susan Garret. Another is YouTuber kikkopup. Crating dogs as a method to deal with problems is cruel and can create separation anxiety or more problems.

I'd be concerned about the puppy not having access to fresh water during those 4-5hrs if crated. Instead, can you block off a section of your kitchen or setup the playpen there? If not, see if attaching the pee pad to a tray would make it hard for her to tear up.

Use the crate inside the "puppy zone" (leaving crate door open) with bedding.

Crates are a great tool (IMO) and a lot of dogs like them (they provide a sense of security).

Here's a general guideline of how I used the crate and potty trained my dog. *Note, I'm not a trained expert and do not claim to know everything! These are just suggestions and a baseline.

No matter the method, the most the important thing is consistency.

• Always take the puppy outside to pee/poo in the same spot.
• Choose a phrase like "go pee" and say it every time you go out there.
• Always give puppy praise when they're going pee/poo.
• Take puppy outside every hour. (Increase to 2hrs, 4hrs, etc, as puppy grows.)
• Take puppy out every time you see them sniffing around the floor! (You'll begin to notice when they have to go.)

Take puppy out after every meal. - Wait a few minutes, if puppy doesn't go, bring inside and CRATE for 10-15 mins. - Repeat until puppy goes.

Always have eyes on the puppy! (This is when the CRATE is useful!)

• If you need to shower, cook dinner, start laundry, etc, put the puppy in the crate AND give puppy a treat! (And toy)
• If puppy is getting too rambunctious and you want her to chill out, put puppy in the crate (give treat).
• Going to the store? Take puppy outside to pee and then put puppy in the crate (with treat and toy).

Bed Time

• Watch how much water puppy drinks as it gets closer to bed time.
• Make sure puppy goes pee before bed and then put puppy in crate.
• Get up every couple of hours and take puppy outside to pee.

Eventually, you'll learn puppy's mannerisms, body language, and different "cries" and you'll know if/when puppy needs to go out during the night. As puppy grows, she can hold her bladder longer periods of time (you can find this info online).

When puppy does have an accident inside the house:

• Never rub puppy's nose in it. (That just teaches them to hide it from you).
• Immediately take puppy outside to 'designated pee zone'.
• Clean up accident and use a pet urine/enzyme cleaner so puppy doesn't think that's the new designated 'pee zone'. (Dogs will continue to pee in the places they smell urine.)

Good luck and have fun!