We've actually found that a small enclosed room with an open crate in it (and toys of course) was the best solution for us. We used either the kitchen or a bathroom. Once the dog is housetrained there really isn't a need to keep it confined in a crate for 6 hours IMHO. On the other hand you don't want to arrive home to a shredded couch or discover the dog has eaten some electrical wire you forgot to hide and is now injured. It's easier to totally dogproof one room. With our older dogs, we have given them the run of the house since they were about 18 months once we felt comfortable that they weren't going to chew or be destructive. I agree the crate becomes a nice secure place to go and a sort of den, but it's also nice to be able to get up and stretch the legs. We have always had bigger, lower energy dogs so don't know if this would be even more true of a high energy dog like a Jack Russell or if they would be more likely to go bonkers.
And I second, third and fourth what's already been said about GET YOU TO A DOG CLASS - they're a GREAT help!!
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