We went to Dallas yesterday to go to the Gaylord ice exhibit which meant Jaxx had to stay home by himself for more than an hour. We ended up setting him up a play site in the bathroom. He did really well and I have not heard any complaints that he was loud. Hopefully it does not confuse him by putting down a puppy pad for him yesterday. He has done so great at house training but I did not want to leave him caged all day so I knew he would need a puppy pad.
The only thin thing I noticed different was he had his ears tucked back to his head for the first hour after we got home. I figured that was his upset look for being left alone all day. Approximately 9 hours.

I left mine to go to San Antonio (I'm just north of Austin) last weekend. I felt guilty, tried to convince my husband to let me get a friend to check on her. I left her crate open in the laundry room with a puppy pad. She didn't use the pad and didn't seem to eat or pee at all but she did when I got home. I leave her for 2-3 hours a few times a week but it's not as long and my boxer sleeps next to the crate. I don't trust her free yet for pottying and she tends to piss the boxer off or get her in a playful mood. With the boxer 20 times her size, I just can't feel comfortable without supervising. To be fair, they get along splendidly in the back yard or across the room. It's my lap or my feet that are the battle zones. The boxer never starts it but the little one growls and snaps. I tell her no and put her down or mover her aside. But if she continues the boxer growls back or swats at her.