For an absolute certainty, many a person or family absolutely loves their dog. The thing is, though, that dogs as our loyal companions are dependent upon those that are the responsible owners of them, for their sustenance, shelter, companionship, and general conditions, so of. Additionally, dogs need outlets for their well-being, which includes not only regular companionship, but also the necessary attention to their feeding, care, affection, and exercise.
To a considerable extent many people desire to have their cake and to eat it, thereby signifying that they want all the benefits of dog ownership but aren’t quite so thrilled about the inherent responsibilities that come with that ownership. So then, what we find is that there are certain people, that because they are busy, preoccupied, have other things to address, or are clueless, thereby seem to lean on and use quite extensively the crating of their dog, on a regular basis.
The thing about a dog, unlike a human being, is a dog is not in a very good place in order to effectively convey what is on their mind, and because they want to be obedient to those that feed and care for them, they will pretty much tolerate what they have to tolerate, such as being in a cage for extended periods of time, but clearly this isn’t fair to one’s dog, and realistically should not be seen as something that is acceptable to have as the normal routine for one’s dog.
There are myriad ways to confine a dog, which does not necessitate something as drastic as a crate, such as a fenced-in yard, which may or may not have a doggie house or doggie door, as well. So too, within a person’s home, dogs can be confined through the prudent usage of dog gates as barriers, or the confinement within a particular room, such as a basement, or balcony, or bedroom, or just about anywhere in which the dog has fair access to food, water, and an opportunity to move around for more than a few feet, without being able to escape. In fact, a tie-out in a person’s yard or a reasonably long leash attached to something like a stairway post within a home will probably also do serviceably well.
While, in an ideal world, we would always have somebody available to take care of our dogs’ needs during our absences, such as a dog walker or sitter-- people though don’t necessarily have unlimited budgets or unlimited time or aren’t necessarily totally organized. The least that we should do though for our dog, is to try to minimize the amount of time that our dog has to spend confined within a very small space, which leaves that dog with not much more of an option but to curl up and wait it out, till that dog is freed again.
In summary, while it is true that dogs are not humans, it is also true that very few humans prefer to be confined within a very small space for an extended period of time, so we should as pet owners, be more cognizant that our loyal companion probably feels about the same about a cage as we would, if we were a dog.