how many of you lock your dogs in kennel (or crates) when you're gone to work? 

Me and my wife (my gf) were discussing what to do with Remington when we go to work, for now we've been putting him in the basement but theres a baby door (or dog door) and he seems to jump over it and then tears anything apart. Today I came home early from work, found a package that my wife had ready for a Ebay buyer.... all torn to pieces.. it was a book from college she sold on ebay... come home and now its torn to pieces. I often wonder about locking him in the Crate kennel but isnt that Inhumane to do that? 

My girls are ok in the house, but my 11 month old male gets into everything when I am gone.  So, he is either outside in the yard where he has a covered patio and an air conditioned kennel, or he is in his crate.  I am never gone more than 4 hours.  I work from home, but sometimes I go out with friends or do some shopping and that is when he goes into the crate or out in the yard. He loves his crate and all I have to tell him is to get in his crate and he does it willingly.  He sleeps quietly as long as he is in the crate.

I crate Tessa while I'm at work, but since I come home for lunch, it's not 8 hours straight, but 4 hours in the a.m. and 4 hours in the p.m. This is also where she sleeps at night...well, most of the nights anyway. She isn't crazy about it, but neither does she mind it. I know she would take some things apart if left to roam, and my main concern is not for my things but her safety.

Sorry about the book and the lost sale

My guys are crated while we're at work, a GSP and a Vizsla can be quite a demolition team.  Once I locked them in the bedroom since we were only going to be gone a short time and they were napping when we left.  Got home to find a hole in the drywall.

Before I leave I take them out for one last potty break and they race back to their kennels and wait for a treat before being locked up.  My son lets them out around noon before he goes to work and locks them back up.  Came home from work on Thursday to find our that our foster dog had somehow opened her crate and had run of the house, luckily nothing was destroyed..... at least that I've found yet.

2 dogs crated all day from 9am to 3 pm. They does not mind at all. He does not spend the night in the crate only when we are at work or he is in the car.

They run to the crates when my wife leaves because they get a toy with frozen peanut butter in it. It is gone in 10 minutes but you have already left and there is no drama. They  know you are gone and accept it I guess.

Dan

I worried about it too when I got her b/c of my long work hrs but now Keely gets put in her crate when I work. I work 3 12hr nights a week, I started by locking her in the kitchen with doggy gates since im gone for so long(still managed to tear up my sheetrock). When she got big enough to jump the gates as well as older and better with house breaking I moved her into the crate gradually. Now she goes into crate (with her blanket and a few toys) when I leave and does fine. she sleeps all night and is ready to go when I come home. It has made for a much cleaner and happier home.

Even though I work from home, my 3 shorthairs are usually to be found outside in the backyard (the weather is nice most of the time in Austin, TX) during the day.  It has a 6 foot fence and thankfully they have never tried to jump it.  My yard is about 60 X 50.  I have an air conditioned kennel (a 10 X 10 room with windows and door with doggy door) where if they get hot they can cool off. I also have  a covered patio with a ceiling fan.  The better part of the yard is also shaded with trees.  In the summer I put out their swimming pool which is a round 8 ft metal tank that is about a foot deep. If I am gone during the day and the weather is nice I leave them outside.  They sleep inside and are not crated unless they want to be (Ringo sometimes sleeps in his crate) at night. 

On a side note, I start teaching no jumping (four on the floor) as soon as I get my dogs which is usually at 8 weeks.  By the time they are big enough to hurt someone jumping up on them, they do not jump.  I think this transfers to fences as well as I rarely see them jump up at the fence.  I also keep plenty in the yard to entertain them and mine really have no desire to roam outside.  Even if they escape (which has only happened when a friend came over and was at the front door, Ringo tested the rules and my friend didn't know he had to wait and be allowed out, he just blew by her) .  After he got out it was like wow now what. He was fascinated by the deer droppings in the yard so he didn't go far.  By that time I was at the front door and I made allot of fun sounds and started running.  Ringo immediately chased me, so I just ran right back to the house and he followed me.  As soon as I got close to the door I stopped and turned around and squatted with arms open and he all but knocked me over.  He thought it was a game. 

maybe he will.. maybe he wont.. he hasnt chewed on furniture yet... but i never thought he would chew on a book.... go figure.. its a couch i got for free. it it goes... oh well.