Am I weird because.....

Mine are crated when I'm away as well.  Sheba and Tyler are loose at nite, and the others are welcome to be, in turns.....I don't want six german shepherds roaming around at nite....BUT all four of the boys would rather go downstairs to their crates. When dad says bedtime they all head for the stairs.  I have actually tried MAKING one or two stay upstairs and they aren't happy not to be sleeping in their crates.  The doors get shut, but not latched and no one ever gets up during the nite.  Guess it's just their little comfort zone and they don't want to give it up.

I confine mine when I'm not here. Emma doesn't get crated, because she's incontinent. She has a small room that she stays in. At night, they sleep with me, and the bedroom door is closed. They *will* get into trouble if I leave them loose, and it's safer to confine them, anyways. If there's an emergency, I'll know where they are.

Russell was crated overnight until he was housetrained, and then still crated during our absences for another another few months. Around 11 or 12 mo we gave him some test runs on being alone uncrated in the house and he did great. We'd come home to find him zonked out on the couch, not a thing touched, even his toys in the exact locations we'd left them. So now he's rarely crated. I don't think it's that big a deal whether the dog is crated or not because the well-adjusted dog will sleep while you're out anyway... but I just like the idea that he can birdwatch out the window if he wants to, grab a drink of water, choose a new sleeping position... I know it's a little silly but I feel better about leaving him when he's loose in the house.

Our crates are HUGE. Tyler and Sheba usually SHARE a crate because that's the way they like it, and they still both have plenty of room to stretch out, stand up, move, whatever.  I'm sooooo anal about fire safety and our crates are positioned for easy access to the outside.  No SANE firefighter is gonna try to save SIX loose and terrified GSDS, and if they do flee, they are in danger from the wild animals and the traffic on the road.  THIS way, the crates can be safely pulled through the sliding patio doors and away from the house.  And because we are way out in the boonies, my house is alarmed for fire, the alarm company has the EXACT location of the crates and easiest route for removal.

I don't want six german shepherds roaming around at nite...

Loved the visuals this gave me. I guess you don't get a lot of burglers, huh? Can you imagine the expression on a home invader's face if he tried to target YOUR house? : )

LOL!!  You know, my bathroom is right above the dogs room and they can hear me pee in the nite and often start yodeling!  I think that the noise factor is enough.
 
My crew can be extremely LOUD....often when we come home from shopping we'll hear them start up....all it takes is letting them know that it's US.  Yesterday when we were leaving, we're sitting at the end of the little driveway that the county calls a road and it's NOT wide enough for two vehicles....a PU truck turns in like he owns the place and hollers out the window that he was turning around....well, he drove all the way down the road, into our driveway and got OUT of his truck (we had gone ahead and turned like we were leaving them pulled in in front of the school house and DH went around the side of it to see what he was doing)....the sound of the door shutting set off the dog alarm and Todd said the guy must have jumped 10 feet in the air before hightailing it BACK to his truck and taking off.
 
Sooooo, with that kind of noise, and the "albino wolf" snarling and carrying on if a foot hits the steps to the deck, I think we're pretty safe with the boys crated at nite!  To be honest, I kind of feel sorry for the cops that have to pick up the suspect after they try......I would NOT want someone with soiled pants in the same car as me!