Is it morally right to crate a dog during the day?

No, you are not overreacting. You just have some of the details mixed up. The crate training does not consist of the dog being crated ALL day.

Crate training is the best way to potty train your dog. It works well but you should not keep the dog in the crate no longer than 4 hours. After you take him outside and he does his business then he should be fine for an hour or so running freely in the house. The more trained your dog gets and get on a schedule the longer you can keep the dog out and about without having to worry.

Is it morally right to yell, scream, hit, correct, other a dog that has chewed up the mail, books, shoes, destroyed a couch, pillows, other?

If a dog is not trained and has a tendency to be desctrutive it's wiser to crate the dog when unsupervised.

If this means crating more 9-10 hours then maybe you would consider coming home for an hour or so in the middle of the day to give the dog a break.

If the dog is well behaved and not destructive at all I wouldn't insist on crating.

I don't think you are overreacting. I wouldn't want to do that either. I broke my leg not long ago and was confined to my room for months. It was horrible and the most mentally challenging thing I have ever had to go through. A crate seems like a similar situation to me. (At least I had TV and friends calling and visiting me - the dog would just be locked in)

Can you find any other alternative? I know many dogs that have to stay in a crate get so super over-excited when they get let out, or their family comes home, and other behavior problems creep up.

That's just my common sense speaking. Ask some professionals (Vets, trainers, etc . - I love the dog whisperer -maybe you can find answers there)

Best of luck to you, and the pooch.

Rebecca

If you are not home then I think it is a good idea to crate train the dog while your away because it really is effective, but if you are saying you would keep the dog in a cage regardless of the house being empty, that is wrong.

I understand where your coming from, I'm assuming that it is for potty training, I personally don't see a problem with it as long as it's not a permanent situtation. Hopefully someone would be letting the dog out of the crate during the day at some point(s) to let him/her go outside...

Yes. I crate trained both of my dogs. My Golden is 6 now and the best dog ever. My Shepherd is 6 months, still in the kennel and he loves it. Once he got used to it (it only took about 3 days) he would go in there by himself and take a nap.

Dogs are denning animals. They don't mind being in a crate because its really no difference than a wolf being in a den. It makes them feel more comfortable.

I totally agree with you- what is the effing point of having a dog if you're just going to keep it in a box all day while you're gone? So incredibly selfish.

Now, I think it's fine to have a crate for a dog- something he considers his own "den" where he can go when he chooses to. I can also understand keeping a dog in a crate for an hour while you're out, but it seems immoral to me to confine an animal in a box for long periods of time.

it's good to be able to crate train a dog for when you absolutely have to be away, or if its just for a little while when the family goes for a movie or something. but i would say if all family members are going to be away from home for longer than 4-6 hours at a time on a daily basis, you need a fenced yard or dog run, or put a baby gate across the doorway of a bathroom for your dog to stay in during the day

Would you want to be locked in a crate all day? Would your wife? He's a living animal, give him some freedom.

You are not overreacting. You're doing the right thing.

How long is 'all day'? No, it's not horrible to keep your dog crated while you're at work. If you think it's too long you can hire a dog walker to let him out and prance him about. As long as he gets decent exercise before and after he's in the crate he should be fine.

I used to be totally against the crate, but I love it now. It helped with potty training, marking, destructive behavior from being bored (crating helps keep them UN-bored actually because they're in a place with a ton of toys), and it helps keep them out of things they shouldn't be like the trash, pantry, cat box, etc.

Dogs are den animals, they may not like the sudden change if they've never been crated before, but they'll get used to it and begin going in on their own. Mine love to just crawl in and cuddle with their stuffed babies in the day.