Hi Nadz,
Your plan is very much like the one we have implemented for our new puppy we picked up on Friday, probably because we're also following Ian Dunbar's method.
We introduced Bronco to his crate immediately, when we picked him up from the breeder. He is very happy in his crate, though we don't do short-term confinement (shutting the crate door) often. We still have a towel in there which has his mum's scent on it which probably helps. We have a pen set up inside and outside, which the crate moves between depending on whether we're home or not.
We regularly take him outside to go to the toilet, and the only time he soils inside is during the night, when he does it on the newspaper in his pen. We will need to build up the confinement I think though, as he won't be in the pen forever and can't go to the toilet in the house!
We also introduced him to the leash and collar from day one, but he doesn't wear it all the time as i'm also worried he could get it caught. For toilet breaks he either goes in his outdoor pen or just nearby. We haven't let him have free run of the whole yard, but in the mornings I put his leash on and take him to the back of the yard where the garden beds are for some interesting smells, etc.
Bronco doesn't get access to the whole house, just one area of the living room in the evenings near where our older lab sleeps, but this is always supervised as he's taken to harassing the big dog. He sometimes actually prefers to be in his crate inside his pen rather than out, which is positive. His inside pen is in the kitchen so he gets used to us walking around and different noises, etc.
