Lots of good advice here already. Just another opinion... Our dogs are so different! Our lab/St. Bernard mix had to be fed three times a day from puppyhood until we lost him. Finicky stomach. Our pug now gets two meals a day, because she feels left out if we sit down to eat without feeding her! :lol: We just divide the food accordingly. Water I leave out all the time.
Crates are wonderful! Our little one likes it for the security it gives her when strangers are here. That is her space, and not accessible to the children who visit. We take it when we travel, for the familiarity of it in new places. (It's just like taking care of a baby sometimes!) Start now. You will be glad you did.