Not a fan of wire or folding crates. The only ones I and the people I train with are the plastic kind or metal. Plastic crates trap hair, feces, urine, vomit, etc, much better than wire. Wire, whatever ends up happening will be on your wall and/or floor.

I would put one on each floor. Proper crate training teaches the k9 that the crate is home. Never stick a hand, finger, or object into that crate so the dog learns it is his/hers and a safe zone. Yes I feed in the crate (bowl is in there for 1-2 minutes then yanked back out), water bowl stays in the crate, etc. Some sort of chew toy is good as well while unattended.

The pup may scream bloody murder the first few nights. When they are pulled from the litter, and it sets in they aren’t going back, many of them wig out. They’ll bark, scream, and howl like nothing you’ve heard before. When I get a new dog, the small crate goes in the garage so I can get some kind of sleep. And at 8-12 weeks, it’s hell on Earth because the pup cannot hold its’ water so needs to be taken out every few hours with reinforcement and a treat when they potty outside. I set the alarm in the middle of the night (after 4 hours of sleep) to wake me up and take them out. The quicker they are potty trained the better your life will be.

I’d crate for life. Once trained it doesn’t bother them at all. And helps when transporting immensely. A crate bungee’d down in the vehicle is the safest way to transport. We’ve had people in our group get into an automobile accident and a loose dog in the vehicle went through the window and died. Another seriously injured. Crate training is one of the best things you can do as a pup from the get go, and even 10 years later when they hit their elderly age. Best of luck.

All good info...

I’ll just add that if you aren’t going to have the pup in the bedroom, be sure you are able to hear and wake up if it needs to go out. If it is allowed to have frequent “accidents” in the crate, it will think that is an ok place to eliminate waste.

Crate should be just big enough for the pup to turn around in. Instinctively they won’t eliminate where they sleep, but if there is enough room in the crate to avoid it they might.

If you go with a larger crate, section it off and then allow more space as pup goes.

If you want a happy crate accepting pup NEVER use the crate as punishment or “time out”. Pup needs to feel crate is their safe space/den.

Start at first with door always open, let pup explore, lure them in with treats, praise every entry. Repetition will become routine, when the pup accepts and is comfortable, then start increasing the time with door closed.

My dogs turn 12 and 13 this year and they absolutely LOVE to be told “In your box!” When we put them in the kennel we keep in the garage. To this day, every time they go in the box they get a treat.

Cover the crate with something light to block light and make a cave but not overheatthem. Soon the pup will consider it his safe spot.

we have two wire folding crates for our dogs in our bedroom. It's a little bit of a pain to move them around the house, so we ended up getting a couple of travel collapsible crates (fabric sides, setup is very fast) for when we need to take them on trips or keep them kenneled somewhere other than the bedroom. We got them cheap off of craigslist. Our pup took to it right away after having only been in his wire crate in the bedroom. He'll actually go into any available crate and settle in if its open and he's tired. His older sister does not find this amusing as she does not like guests in "her" house.

Good info herein. Thanks to everyone.

I didn't mention it's a black male goldendoodle. Will post a pick in a few weeks.