Here's what we did/do with Dexter - we both work full time and he's alone from about 7:30 am till 5 pm:
When he was a little puppy we had him fenced off in the kitchen in a small area (his crate was enclosed in the fence, but we did not lock him inside). We would put down 1-2 puppy pads. After just a short time he would use the pads and not the floor. I think he thought of the small area in the kitchen as his "home" and would not go except for on the pad. After he was about 4 months old we eliminated the pads. He would hold it while we were away. Once he got to about 6 months we moved him downstairs to our basement (which is finished) and had him fenced once again in a small area. He was very good about not having accidents. At about 8 months we let him have the entire basement and eliminated the lunch visits. He is now fine.
The cons to this - 1) he was not really potty trained until 5 months old. I think he would be excited when we were home and would forget
2) he is not officially crate trained (as in he would freek if we locked him in the crate). Since we were gone so much during the day we did not feel we should confine him when we were home with him.
Sorry this is so long
When he was a little puppy we had him fenced off in the kitchen in a small area (his crate was enclosed in the fence, but we did not lock him inside). We would put down 1-2 puppy pads. After just a short time he would use the pads and not the floor. I think he thought of the small area in the kitchen as his "home" and would not go except for on the pad. After he was about 4 months old we eliminated the pads. He would hold it while we were away. Once he got to about 6 months we moved him downstairs to our basement (which is finished) and had him fenced once again in a small area. He was very good about not having accidents. At about 8 months we let him have the entire basement and eliminated the lunch visits. He is now fine.
The cons to this - 1) he was not really potty trained until 5 months old. I think he would be excited when we were home and would forget
Sorry this is so long