Crate Poll

Generally I'm home most all the day, since I'm a sahm for my toddler and due with #2 next month.
 
Typically we run errands or shop for a total of 2 hrs. Sometimes playgroups or special events we attend run a good 4-6 hrs.  8 hrs would be the max for crating, in which case they'd have access to water, a treat and a few toys to occupy their time.  The long crate stays are very rare though.
 
Overnight, my dogs are crated also... Generally they hit hte hay about 9pm and we get up about 7-8am.  Of course they have water and get a biscuit at bedtime (my minpin starts pestering me as soon as it's dark to go to bed lol).
 

They only sleep in theirs at night all day they have free roam of the house, and are only alone tops 4hrs ever. Did I mention they are very spoiled dogs?

I don't use crates, as I am home all day and they are very trustworthy in the house if I do leave. Mine are very spoiled also.

If we use it...maybe 4 hours at the most. He used to sleep in it, but now he just sleeps on a dog bed in our room.

we work, so shenzi is crated all day, and at night when she sleeps.  she is not to be trusted out of her crate while we are sleeping b/c on the occasions that we have fallen asleep on the couch, we ALWAYS find a nice pile of poop and puddle of pee somewhere it shouldn't be (on the carpet in the living room, or corner of the bedroom)...

At the most, 3hrs. But then again Maisie is just a puppy and sometimes we've accidentally lost track of time and it's been 4hrs[:-] but never more than that.

 I too am home with our dog. Her time alone in crate has been no more than 3 hours, aside from sleeping in it of a night.
 
 She is still a pup, and my intention is to gradually increase her time alone so it isn't a complete shock to her when she can't come with us for an afternoon. Right now she goes nearly every where with us, but i do know that won't always be the case.

no crates here

Up to five hours for the pup during the day if we are not there. If any longer, we have our dog walker come in and let her out and exercise her. Dakotah is not crated any longer.

The pup used to sleep in her crate too, but not any longer, as she is housetrained, though at night she will sometimes voluntarily enter her crate....though now she likes sleeping under the bed more....

Mine's 8 months, and he still has to be crated. I put him in there at night while sleeping, and then when I'm gone during the day (max 5 hours, usually 2-3). I let him out of the crate while I'm gone about once a month to see if he can handle it yet, and every time so far I've come back to things ripped apart, etc. High separation anxiety I think.

WOW! Please please please do not take this the wrong way but have you tried to train your dog not to go potty in the house? I gues its hard for me to comprehend leaving a dog in a crate that much, have you thought of getting a cat instead?

There is no problem with crating as long as they get plenty of play time before hand. Suggesting they get a cat is kind of rude. Sometimes it's safer to crate than let them have free run of the house. Even good dogs can hurt themselves while you're out.
 
Most dogs would appreciate being let out every few hours. But they can stay in longer. Most dogs sleep the time away while their owners are gone at work/outings anyways. Good chew toys, bones etc will keep them busy to pass the time.

If no one is at home during the day (kids at school, etc.) I crate mine even though she is 9 and can stay out but usually "punishes" me with a little pile of pee and poop.  She NEVER does that when I am home.  The kids get home around 3 from school so she is crated from 8-3 during the week.  At night I only crate her if she starts to scratch her back on the bottom of the bedframe.  She rubs it absolutely raw sometimes.  But that is another story altogether.  She LOVES her crate.  Never minds going in it. 

I too am home, and pretty typically don't go very far for very long.  However, my dogs were all crate trained as pups and last week, for example, when I was spending very long hours at the hospital with my Mom, they spent some long hours in the crates.  They had their stuffed kongs and huge bowls of ice cubes.  It's about 45 minutes from here to the hospital, and, with gas over 3 bucks a gallon, it wasn't practical to run back and forth for potty breaks.  The last week or so the weather has been horrible and they've been inside with me much more than outside.  However, if I'm extremely busy, as I was yesterday when I was cleaning cherries and making jam, they went into their crates with a fresh knuckle bone with the baby monitor switched on so I could hear any problems.
 
I could probably trust every one of my dogs out in the house when I'm gone.  BUT, sometimes they get a wild hair about something or nothing and do a bit of posturing, that I easily stop with a "that'll do"...can't do that if I'm not here and I don't want a minor tiff to escalate. 
 
I also don't want to come home and find that my house caught fire and my dogs died because the firefighters either couldn't find them or were afraid of them.  Even with BIG dogs, crates can be safely pulled through the door.....my dogs, loose and frightened, might be a mennace to firefighters and they could die for that very reason....either from a fire or a firefighters ax to the head.
 
And, Good Lord willing, someday I'll have a job to go to again.......and then crating will not be  a choice.  And even tho most of them do sleep in their crates at nite...the doors are never latched.