You can introduce the crate gradually or suddenly. It's going to take the same amount of time, IMO, to get her used to it and to calmly stay in it, so it's your preference if you want to deal with the crying of putting her in it right away or the peeing/pooping and chewing that will come with leaving her out.

As for house training, absolutely start that right away, just don't take her out in public where other unvaccinated dogs have been. Just areas of your yard that are "safe" from diseases. If you don't have your own yard and ONLY have shared space that could have parvo on the ground, it would be best to let her potty inside until she gets her shots, as detrimental as that would be to her house training, it could save her life.

As for discipline... well I don't count saying No as discipline, but it is a "correction" and should really only be used when the dogs KNOWS what it means or that it shouldn't be doing what it is doing. I don't mindsaying AH AH or NO to my puppy, but I do it when he knows what I'm trying to get across... otherwise I am using redirection to get him to do what is appropriate.

 

Unless you have a pen or can baby gate off somewhere safe for the puppy when you cannot be watching her, you really need to start getting the puppy used to her crate. You will need to take the pup out several times a day to potty, after eating, sleeping, playing and lots of times in between. With my small dogs, I had a pen set up where I could put them when I was going out or could not be watching them. It had puppy pads, their food, water and bed in it.

With my Dobe pup when I got her at 11 weeks, I just had her loose in the house baby-gated out of the Living room and bedroom. She had the kitchen, bathroom and hallway so I could always keep an eye on her. Any time she started sniffing around or doing anything but sleeping or playing, I would take her outside. She has gone about a month without an accident but that is because I always have my eyes on her. If I get busy doing something, I will put her outside for a while. I have a well-fenced yard which helps. At night she sleeps quietly in her crate but I always give her a treat when I put her in and she just races to get in there when I say "bedtime". She is down to where she asks to go out once during the night.

 

I used "eh eh!" more as a distractor noise than any sort of discipline. It caught his attention so he stopped what he was doing and could be redirected.

We introduced the crate on day 1 (a few days shy of 8 wks) but didn't have him staying in the crate with the door shut until he was older and we knew he wouldn't have an accident in it. Until then we had the crate open in an expen. My dog is small, though - 20 lbs full grown - so he wasn't able to escape the expen. That may not be a good idea for a larger dog.

 

1. The mother starts potty training the litter around 4 weeks or so ... so you're continuing the training. The puppy knows when it has to go potty, just needs to be taught 'where'. The pup may not be in reliable control of 'when' until about 6 mos or so.

2. Ian Dunbar suggests crate training before puppies are adopted. Not sure if he describes it in one of these free downloads: http://www.dogstardaily.com/free-downloads

3. You can train a 4 week pup to sit. If you start at 8 weeks, you can train the pup to Sit, Down, Come, Stay [with no distractions] before it is 10 weeks old. When you mean by "discipline" may be more a matter of training method rather than age.

My vote is to train, crate, train, and potty train, now. Be patient, if she doesn't get it today, she may understand next week.

 

Hmmm.....why would any resource say not to start training a dog until they are ten weeks? Dog's are learning creatures, they are learning every moment they are awake, it's just a matter of how involved you are in what they're learning, and if you're not involved you might not like what they're learning for themselves without your guidance.

The word "No," and the sound "Ack, Ack, Ack" are what I call No Reward Markers. They are just verbal markers that tell a dog they're on the wrong track, or an interrupter of behavior, depending on how they're used. It really doesn't matter what word or sound is used to tell the dog "you're offering the wrong behavior right now" or "stop that and listen to me" as long as the dog knows what it means. Any word could be confusing if not used consistently, and if used consistently I could use the word banana for either of these messages. Some people use "Ah, Ah" as an interrupter to get the dog to stop and listen, some people use the dog's name, some people use No for only those things that a dog is NEVER to do, like counter surf and a different verbal marker for if the dog offers a shake of the paw when you really want a down, like "not it" or "try again." Whatever you use it's best if it's a distinct sound and not one likely to be used in causal conversations. But to never correct a dog is just not realistic.

I did reading like you, and felt confused. I did do trial and error. And after years of reading and trial and error I found positive reinforcement training, clicker training, and shaping is far superior to any other kind of training out there. Do some reading from some PR trainers and behaviorists and see if you don't agree.

 

Go easy with the discipline. It's a very young puppy and being positive is much better. When momma dogs scold their young about anything its followed by immediate positive reinforcement. In reality, just focus on the positiivity. It'll work better.

 

If you have the opportunity to be home during the day, you can easily get her used to the crate slowly, without ending up with her peeing and pooping everywhere. You simply have to keep your eyes on her when she is awake and moving. We used a crate, but not often. We only used it when we couldn't keep our eyes on them, and at night (til they were potty trained). Other than that, the crate was available, but we didn't really put them in with the door shut.
We also didn't use the crate for potty training, which is what a lot of people do now. You CAN potty train without a crate, as long as you have your eyes on the puppy when she's awake and moving. If she's asleep or lying down in one spot with a toy, you're off the hook a bit. But, when she is awake and moving, it should be all eyes on her. NOT eyes on the puppy AND the tv, or eyes on the puppy AND the computer, or eyes on the puppy AND on cooking dinner. If you can't directly have your eyes on her, that's when you'd crate.

I like gradually getting the puppy used to the crate because I want them to like it, for those times when I do need to use it. If they are put in the crate for the first time for several hours at a time, they may develop a strong dislike for it. That said, I DID use it all night, every night, from the first night (until they were potty trained). They seemed to settle quicker at night, maybe because they were tired.

For potty training, start right away, but not in very public places where she could pick up diseases.

I'm not a big fan of discipline. IMO, you shouldn't really need punishment for a puppy, if you are managing them properly. In other words, if you are directly supervising them, and you see them about to have an accident, you can interrupt them and then get them out on time, no discipline necessary, because you were able to stop them before anything happened. If you are directly supervising and you see them headed for your favorite slipper, you can easily interrupt before they get to it and give them a toy instead.
It's all about supervising to PREVENT bad behavior (management). If you can do this, you are really taking away any ideas they get that are "bad" and shaping them into doing "good" things. If you can do this, you are getting them into the habit of doing "good" (playing only with appropriate toys not the furniture, going potty outside, not in, etc).