I have to chime in also about crate training. It is not cruel at all if done properly in my opinion. All of my dogs have been crate trained since puppies.

Nebo absolutely loves his crate, it is his den. My mom works at a school so she has the summer off. So all of the dogs would be loose in the house during the day while I was at work. She told me that Nebo spent the majority of the day in his crate, on his own free will. He would go down there to chew his kong or just sleep. He only came out when he wanted outside.

Since she is now at work and I am too he is in a crate while we are gone (we tried the free roam of the house thing, he did great for about a week then he made a huge mess...I would have given him many more chances, but it's my parents house and therefore not my choice). Every morning he sees me stuffing his kong with goodies and he goes right into his crate, he does not protest at all. I just make sure I let him out twice to potty before I leave and I always go into the backyard and exercise him as well. When I come home he's always peacefully laying there, usually asleep. What do you think your dog does in the yard or in your house while you are gone? I bet the majority of dogs spend most of the time sleeping.

I do of course understand there are instances where crates are misused, but you can't claim that crate training is cruel because of those instances.

Also from working at a grooming salon (and I bet those who have worked at vet offices will agree) crate training greatly helps dogs when they must stay away from their owners. If they are used to being in a crate they are less stressed when placed in one. It is not a struggle to get them in, nor do they bark or hurt their paws scratching at the door. They are more calm and so are the people who work there.

I do not and will never agree to 100% outdoor dogs but I will leave it at that.