So we bought an attachable water dish for Bode's crate. When is it ok to leave water in there for him? If we give him water during the day when we are gone for a few hours in the crate, will that be too much for him to hold it?

It depends on how old he is, personally I wouldn't leave water in the crate for a dog under 6 months old. Remember they will usually/always have too use the bathroom after eating, drinking, playing... ect. ect. so leaving a bowl of water in the crate is just asking for an accident. As long as he's had water available before you leave, and then taken out, he should be fine to go without it.

i agree with Kristina khuno did great without water when i left him in the crate for the day. now i'm lucky enough to be able to bring him to work every day with me

Kristina is right. As long as the AC is on and the pup is cool, he/she should be fine. If you feel like you should give him water, just give a small portion. When the pup was with his mother, they were taught to not "mess" in their bed. Hopefully your little one has learned that! Just try not to leave him for more than 4-5 hrs usually (Mine's 12 wks). That's my rule of thumb.

I never leave water in a crate and I certainly wouldn't consider it with a young pup since that isn't likely to set them up for success. And on the few occasions when I was required to leave water in the crate (when flying food and water bowls in the crate were a requirement) my sibe ended up chewing the container which is a far greater hazard.

My mother in law always leaves water in her adult dogs' crates and they rarely have accidents, but then again they are adults.

Ok thanks! I didn't think there was really a whole lot of need for it, but I got the bowl just in case!