Biff set out an empty and doorless crate a few days ago, for the puppies to investigate and play in. I added a little blanket two days later and #2 settled down for a nap shortly afterward, looking pretty comfortable.

Below is a link to an AKC article about the reason for and the how-to’s on crate training a puppy. Two tips they don’t offer are 1. Keep the crate in a location close to your activity and let your puppy have access to the crate at any time so he/she can play or settle in whenever they want.  2.  If needed, to skip past the issue of them being resistant to going into or staying in the crate, you can slide your already sleeping puppy from your arms into the crate and latch the door.  They’ll happily wake up after sleeping, perhaps with a toy there as entertainment. Open the door after they’ve awoken and get them right out to “pee.”

http://www.akc.org/content/dog-training/articles/how-to-crate-train-a-puppy/

The photo below was taken today, after breakfast. It was a beautiful morning and the puppies have begun some of their naps outside, often falling asleep just moments after rough housing with each other. They can go from 60 to 0 in about 10 seconds!