Growing Out of Crates?

I hope I don't need to crate Tara for much longer. Tara is about 9 months old, and totally housebroken for the last few months. I crate her when I will be out of the house for more than 10-15 minutes. Even when I don't have to crate her, the crate will still be there if she wants to use it. Or if I need to put her in it for some reason (like when a repairman is here - she likes to "help"). I'd rather she be loose in the house all the time eventually.
 
I crate to help with housebreaking and to keep my house from being destroyed by a chewy puppy while I'm out. She's almost out of the chewy phase, and I think it won't be much longer til I feel comfortable leaving her loose while I'm at work.

Then I think she bought the crates too small. I got Max's original wire crate so that he would be able to continue using it. It came with a divider for when he was smaller. I just got him a new plastic crate, because he was able to bust out of his wire one. He's 15 months old, and still uses it when he's home alone, because I wouldn't trust him to leave him out. He chews up stuff when i'm home, so why wouldn't he when i'm away from home?

I leave Sam out for short tasks, but I don't want him getting new ideas of how to destroy the house.

My dogs are grown and still crated when I leave. They still happily nap in their open crates while I'm here, too.

Sadie loves her crate.  Keep using it. 
 
 If you take the dog out of town or somewhere with you, you have a reliable/familiar place to keep them if you go out.

This is a hotly debated topic around here, but my advice is to continue using it for the rest of the dogs life!
 
I see hundreds of dogs a month that have serious behavior problems most of them are not crated at night and when the owners leave.  There is definitely a link between the amount of freedom a dog has and the number of behavior problems it developers.

I am all for crate training.  Dogs love their crates when they are used properly, and it can make it easier for them to fit into life in a home. 

However, I'm right now dealing with a case of crate training gone array, and so I thought I'd mention what can happen with over-crating a dog.  I recently adopted a 6 year old toy poodle, given to me by a person who was simply "done with him."  For all of his six years, he was in his crate when his family was at work and then again overnight.  (I already had a 1.5 year old femal toy poodle, not crate trained, perfectly house trained).  So, think of this--Up at 6:30 a.m. to potty and wander a bit (they did not walk him) back in crate at 8:00 a.m., there until family returned at 6:00 p.m., out of crate until 10:00 bedtime in crate.  No walks, no rides in car, nothing. 

This dog is an absolute sweetheart, he came here very needy for attention, and he is getting it.  The problem that has occurred as a result of all this crating is the poor dear has absolutely no idea how to be in a house if you aren't right there and he's not in his crate.  Example, during the day when I'm home and he is around in the house, if I go out to the front yard (unfenced) to get the mail or do some yard work, he has an absolute panic attack--barking and peeing and carrying on.  He is very afraid if you aren't there and he's not in his crate.  He is crate trained, he is not l"ive in the house trained."  We are slowly working this out, I hope that we are able to teach him that it is okay for him to be loose in the house a bit when we aren't in sight.  If not, then we will continue to do what he needs, and that is have him go into his crate (he does so very willingly) if we are to be out of his sight. 

My point in sharing this is that crate training is a wonderful tool for a dog.  But, don't forget to teach them to live outside the crate, too.