When I talk to people about crate training I usually get a handful of mixed responses.
The most common response is "don't the dogs get lonely inside their crate?" Believe it or not puppies really enjoy their crates and they use this area as their safety zone.
Trust me, my 2 and 3 year old have given our puppies plenty of excuses to need a safety zone! Puppies can safely be left in a crate for hours at a time and this will speed up the potty training process exponentially! When choosing an area for the crate remember that the puppy will enjoy being around the company of people.
Don't put the crate in a dark closest or laundry room; this will cause the puppy to panic.
Instead, place the crate in the living room during the day and in your bedroom at night.
Some families that I know have even owned several crates around various areas of the house.
When you introduce your puppy to their crate make it as fun and exciting as possible.
DO NOT just toss your puppy in the crate for the first time and leave for work...
this is a very bad idea and your crate training days will be numbered if you choose this route.
Open the crate door and toss in some treats and toys.
Tie the door open so that the puppy can freely enter and exit freely for a few hours.
After the puppy is comfortable in their new crate begin feeding them inside there.
Keep an close eye on the puppies body language and once you pick up that your puppy is enjoying their new home you can begin to shut the door.
Only keep the door closed for a small amount of time in the beginning.
Over the course of a few days you can begin closing them in their crate for longer amounts of time while you go elsewhere in the house.
Do not forget to place some toys in the crate to keep them busy.
Hopefully this gives you a great start at beginning to crate train your new puppy.