Crating ?'s

You are right to keep a divider in his crate but he really needs to be taken out every couple of hours. Letting him potty in his crate is going to create problems. Don't get upset, but why do you have him at only 6 weeks old? He still needs his mom and siblings for socialization. Most puppies don't wean until they're 6 weeks. He's too little to know NOT to potty in his crate. What he needs right now is constant supervision. Can you come home and let him out? He really shouldn't be crated all day at only 6 weeks.

It all depends on how long he is in there. Someone should really come home at least once during the day and let him out. They can hold it for one hour for every month they are old. For expample: 2 months=2 hours. He could develope an infection or worse, bad house habits.

I put a child gate up in the kitchen and got them used to going on the puppy pads. They can't hold it. All they do at that age is pee, poop, and sleep. Just like a baby they need constant supervision.

It might be difficult for you depending on your work situation, but when I got Aja and Diva (sisters) at 8 weeks, I made sure to let them out as often as possible. If I was at work or class, I'd do my best to come home and let them out every few hours. I understand this isn't possible for everyone, but doing this resulted in successful housetraining within a matter of weeks. I've heard horror stories about people who crated their young pups for hours on end, and their grown dogs still aren't housetrained, simply because they couldn't be let out as often as required. Hopefully this advice helps :)

Like you, I wasn't able to come home during the day to let my little Delilah out, but she's potty trained. It takes a lot of work when you get home. Allowing Jake to potty in the crate is only going to make it harder on him to figure it out, however, since he's so young he will have accidents for a little while.
The best advice I can give you is be patient. When you are home with him, set a timer for 30min. and let him out every time to do his thing. If he's not making piddles, extend the time to 1 hour and so on until he gets the idea. It worked with Del. It does take a lot of time and a lot of hard work but he'll get the hang of it before you know it.
Also, for more questions, Pet Smart offer a FREE Potty Training class that is very helpful for first timers like you. Best of luck!

I got Petey at five weeks so don't feel bad. I kept him in a crate with a divider while I was at work. I would have to go home everyday at lunch and change his bedding because he could not hold it all day ... thankfully I lived close enough where I could do that. Then as he got older, he was able to hold it all day.

I'd try a long term confinement area which has an area for the puppy to potty, maybe gated in the kitchen or bathroom. If you let it have too much crate and its going in there it may be harder to crate him effectively later because he will learn its ok to go in there. I used Before and After Getting Your Puppy: The Positive Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, and Well-Behaved Dog by Ian Dunbar from the library for ideas with both of mine when they were little. Its a very detailed book and has great advice for avoiding trouble.