I have a 10 month old puggle, and she has been crated since we have had her (about 7 months now). She does well in the crate, no accidents, but I would like to start transitioning her to being alone in the house without the crate. She has not had any accidents in the house for a few months, and we have tried tying a leash to the door to restrict her (our house is an open floor plan, there's really no way to block off a room for her, other than our bedroom or the bathroom), but even if she is only alone for 10 minutes and has gone outside before we left, she will have an accident on the floor. I don't know what to do, I'd hate to think she will have to stay in the crate for the rest of her life, esp since we are not home for 10 hours a day due to work (some one has been letting her out during the day for us, but with bad weather coming, they won't be able to). Any advice would be great!!!!!
You might look online or in pet catalogs about indoor dog pens. They can usually be made to conform to different shapes and sizes. You could put her crate in there with the door open so she would have that option. PeePee pads could be left in there so she could do her business. 10 hours is a long time for her to be alone and holding her "potty".....unhealthy, as well. Have you considered "doggy day care"?
I agree, 10 hours is WAY too long to leave a dog in a crate, you seriously need to find a solution to this, it will impact on the dogs health and behavior.