Is it Fair to Leave a Dog Alone All Day?

Actually, I think the average dog has a very good sense of time.
   
That's the only explanation for them waking you up at the same time every morning for a walk, no matter what time the sunrise is - and the fact that, for example, even if Marlowe's been walked at 9pm instead of his usual 7:30 or 8pm, he ALWAYS turns up in front of us at almost exactly 11pm, his usual last-walk-of-the-day time. Even if he really doesn't need to go, he still wants to go OUT. And he knows that THIS is the time he's supposed to go out. A sense of time is the only explanation for this.
   

I think it's cruel to put a dog away like a toy and remove it from the box when you are ready. They indeed do have a sense of time...perhaps different from ours. But they also have the need to run, play and stretch like any animal. The thought that my dog might need to go pee or stretch but is forcing himself back to sleep to cope with a kennel for 8 hours seems very selfish. Even when I had little money, I searched till I found someone to barter dog-time with. The friend came by in the middle of my work-day to walk my dogs for an hour. In exchange I washed and walked his dogs and bought their food occasionally on weekends. I also, as one poster said, did not like someone in my house when I was not home, so I took the trouble to lock one closet with stuff in it. My dogs were worth the trouble.
   
I worked toward a life for my dogs as I worked toward a nice life for myself. Now, they have a fenced yard that I have just paid off, and a dog door where they can come and go while I am away. We are both very happy with the arrangement. Took a while to get here, but they were worth it to me. I took the responsibility when I adopted them to give them a decent life. That's my opinion. I may seem hard-lined on the compassion front, but these animals are capable of unconditional love....I think we could learn from them. Nancy

I don't believe in crates in the house, either. Marlowe has several places he goes: under my vanity (mostly at night), in the computer room (when he wants to get away), on the couch (when he's sociable) & in my bathroom (when he's scared/insecure/upset). It works out for us.