Puppy Training Advice

Hi all first time dog owner here and trying my best to do this right, so I’d love some guidance.

I have an 8-week-old terrier puppy that I just brought home and I’m starting to potty train him. My current setup is a playpen with an open crate inside of it.

When I first got him he was pretty scared, so I didn’t want to lock him in the crate immediately and risk making it a negative experience. Instead, I left the crate door open inside the pen. For the first few nights I’ve been sleeping on the couch next to the pen so I can hear him.

The routine has been:

• When I hear him wake up or move around, I pick him up
• I take him outside to my balcony where I have a grass pad
• He usually pees or poops on the grass pad

He’s actually picked that up pretty quickly, which feels like a good sign. He’s generally going on or very near the grass pad, so directionally the potty training seems to be working.

The issue I’m noticing is that sometimes he wakes up and doesn’t make noise, and he’ll just walk out of the crate and pee on a puppy pad inside the pen.

It’s not the worst thing since it’s still on a pad and not the floor, but my concern is that I might accidentally be training him to leave the crate and pee immediately instead of signaling that he needs to go out.

So my questions are:

• Should I start closing the crate door at night once he seems comfortable with it?
• Then wait for him to whine or wake up, take him out to the grass pad, and put him back in the crate?
• Or is the open crate + pen setup okay at this age and I’m overthinking it?

Again, this is my first dog, so I’m trying to balance crate training, not scaring him, and building good potty habits. Would really appreciate advice from people who’ve been through the puppy stage before