How long is your dog crated for?

Most of my dogs are crated from 7am-6pm and then about midnight to 6am.

Well our guys, 2 of the 4, get crated from about 7:30 until 5pm.  Sometimes they get out at lunch time, but not always.  The other two are locked in the same room with them for the same amount of time.  They range in age from 4 years to 8 years old.  This is M-F.

m-f 7:30 a-12:30pm and 12:45pm-5:30pm and 11pm-5:30am
sat-sun only crated during the day if we are not home and 11pm- ~6am

Mic
 
Since I'm just a rookie at being a dog owner (this is my first dog) and you're the experienced one I was how long is too long for crating dogs?  I see that your's are crated about 17 hours.  Mine is about the same.  Do they typically sleep most of the day?  Just worried that with the amount of time he's crated, he'll get bored and not have enough time out to get his exercise.  I do walk him evey day when I come home from work, usually 45mins to 1 hour walk.  Thanks

Prince is gated in the washroom/mudroom area from about 7:10am to 5:30 or 6pm, M-F. He is with us the rest of the time and sleeps in our bedroom uncrated.

Mic-
Wow 7 hours outside of a crate.  Is this daily?  I don't think I would want to be locked in my bathroom for 17 hours.  Is that really healthy for the dogs?  [&:][sm=eek.gif]

During the work week mine are crated from about 7:45 am to 12:15 am, 12:45 am to 5:15 pm. Then from about anywhere from around midnight-3amish to 6am. When we finally get our farm, however, there will no longer be a noon potty break. During the weekends they're pretty much only crated overnight, with only an occasional couple of hours during the day.


Edit to add for clarity: June and Zippy sleep out of the crates at night, and Ginger is allowed free reign of the house off and on - depending on how her arthritis (and attitude in general) is doing. Bree has to do the crate thing, though, because she's still a little troublemaker. June cannot be out when I'm gone, else she'll chew her tail. Sometimes Zippy is allowed free reign when we're gone as well. The above is just general.

My dogs get so much exercise everyday (about 4 hours) that the amount of time in the crate doesn't bother them.  They are quite content. 
 
Think about it like this.  If they were a pack of wild dogs they would migrate 30-100 miles in a day.  So leaving a dog out in the house or in the back yard is just like leaving them in a bigger kennel.  It doesn't do anything for the dog. 
 
Also, I am working right now at my home office and the dogs are crated.  I just stuck my head in on them, and they are all laying on there backs dead asleep.  If they were out of the crate, they would be laying under my desk dead asleep.  What's the difference?
 
The key is adequate exercise and work to do. 
I get up at 6:00am and run my dogs for an hour (either outside or on the treadmill).  They eat and then are crated to rest and nap. Until I am done working in the evening.  They come out of there crates, take a bathroom break and then either hit the treadmill or go for a 2 hr bike ride, roller blade, scooter pull, or hike.  Something different everyday.  For instance, last night we went downtown (into cincy), and walked around the city blocks.  The walk was a little shorter, but the situation is so much MORE stressful they slept for about 10 hrs straight.  Cars honking, air brakes, people yelling, police whistles blowing, sewer grates....very stressful and very hard work some suburban dogs.  There are some dogs that can literally get exercise from riding in a car. 
 
After our activity we head home for some obedience work.  Then they can hang out until I go to bed. 
 
Most of my clients do the opposite.  There dogs are out of there crates (if they are crated at all) for all hours of the day and night.  If the dogs lucky it gets about 20-30 minutes of real exercise and interaction, but it gets all the time it wants in the backyard.  That is no different than the dog being kenneled all day and only getting 20-30 minutes of exercise.
 
You need to find what the right balance is for your dogs.  It really is about balance.  That's how you prevent behavior problems and have happy pets!  It's going to depend on the breed, the dog, the owner, and more than anything else, what the dog has become conditioned to expect.

All 4 of mine are crated from 6:30am to 5:00pm, M-F.  2 of them are crated at night from about 10:00pm to 5:00am. 
 
Totally agree with Mic....it's not the amount of time that they are out of their crates, it's the quality of that time that counts. 

Molly, 9 month old GSD pup, goes into her crate at 7:30am. I go home at noon and take her outside and weather permitting for a short walk.
My 17 year old son is usually home by 3-3:30 and then the hound is released for the evening/night.

I know it has become "accepted" to crate dogs for long periods of time, but really, if your dog is in a crate for longer than four hours a day every day this is unacceptable; all night for sleeping is ok if they are not in the crate all day as well. No zoo or laboratory would ever be allowed to confine an animal in such a small space for such a long period of time without being shut down for animal cruelty. There are other options. We've always confined puppies/untrained dogs in an either an x-pen or a dog-proofed room. Older dogs who have been properly house trained (and I don't mean just ottying in the correct place) get free run of the house.  

What breed of dog Mic?  Would you suggest that for all breeds including your toy breeds?  I would rather my dog sleep where he wants or wander a round a bit and stretch and drink and eat when he pleases then cage him for hours.  Mic would you like to live like your dogs do?  I just don't think it works for all dogs and I don't believe in crating or caging an animal for hours on end.

I don't see where Mic or I (or many of the posters in this thread) are suggesting any particular crating style for anyone, or any breed of dogs in particular. Most in this thread are just sharing what we do personally... not making a recommendation or value statement on what others do. The poster asked us how long we crate our dogs, and that's the question I am answering - not what I think you or anyone else should do.

I would say that all of us have to do what works best for our dogs, and our situation. I think there are a LOT of dogs that could use some crate training. Then again, there are many that don't need a crate.

Edit to add: my toy dog, Zippy (Papillon), is crate trained, and he is crated with the other dogs during the day. At night he sleeps on a dog bed next to my side of the bed.

What is wrong with asking others why they do it?  And if they suggest to others?  I am just stating that I do not find that to be something I need to nor want to do.  I know people who keep there dogs crated for 20-22 hours total a day.  I don't think that people would want to live that way.  Each person can choose what they wish to do with their dog.  I am agreeing to disagree.