[sharkweek]

We crate our lab mix during the work day -- he currently barks for about 2-3 minutes when we leave, chews on his toys (man he loves that kong full of peanut butter), falls asleep, wakes up for a few minutes, chews on his toys again, falls asleep; rinse and repeat.

I think we broke it down to like:

90% sleeping 5% chewing on stuff 5% sitting there doing nothing but awake

[waffle_ss]

Perhaps it's just because I grew up on a farm and our dogs roamed freely during the day, but this sounds like a miserable life for a dog. Is this a common thing for people to do?

[sharkweek]

Yes, very -- it's his den. He loves being in there and enters on his own will as it's his safe place where he gets all the best toys as well as sleeps at night. A good owner will NEVER use crate time as punishment, it's only supposed to be used as a positive place. It's also important when they're young to not associate it with you leaving, so you typically put them in a few times randomly while you're home during their puppy months, and leave lots of treats/fun toys for short period where the dog can still see you. Slowly they'll learn that it's their own private and "fun" place.

It really prevents him from getting into too much trouble while we're away, but eventually when he's less "puppy" (he's currently 9 months), we'll slowly start letting him roam the house/yard for short periods while we're gone, working our way up to a full work day.

Fear not though, when we're home he's with us, and he always gets about 1-2 hours of exercise as well as a trip to our local dog park daily.

[zecho]

My dog gets free run of the house and backyard when I'm away. I've tracked what he does all day with webcams. Most of it is sleeping on my bed or couch, where he's not allowed when I'm at home. Sometimes he drinks from the toilet instead of going downstairs to his dish.

When he was a pup, we crated him. Never liked coming home to find destroyed property. We started by kenneling him in a bedroom, then letting him have the bedroom to himself, then more rooms with gates/doors blocking access. The more we trusted him, the more freedom he got. If there were setbacks, we'd restrict his access a bit more. Only took a couple of months.

[Shivetya]

Growing up on one as well I remember the setters being asleep most of the time, usually on the porch. Their activity time usually was when we went to school or got home. Top that off with any car coming down the drive. Otherwise, they seemed content to sleep the day off.

Now with small dogs I have noticed similar, I get five minutes of fame. Visitors get a few more minutes than I, afterward its like ho-hum.

Don't assume dogs limited in their domain, even those confined to runs, have a miserable time. It all comes down to how they are handled and spoken too. Mean people tend to beget mean dogs.

[onli]

It is common behaviour for dogs to be inactive when they are alone (I guess that on a farm with other dogs they don't need humans that much). Or do you mean letting the dog alone?