i love the crate............ once upon a time i thought it was cruel too, but that was when the dogs i had were destroying my PARENTS house.... now i am renting and let me tell you, it has saved us soooooooo much money in repairs ect... because he doesnt have the opportunity to destroy anything... and it works out well for the dog too, because toby LOVES his crate, it is his home away from home (he will always be comfortable on trips when he has a crate to chill out in) and he goes in there when he is tired, grumpy.... it iis his own little spot..... it is much more hassel to have a big dog in a crate because of the larger space issue but little dog crates come in many styles (the wicker looking one........ but toby would probably chew through it) and they are smaller so they are easier to hide away some place where you wont trip over it............ In the end it comes down to your decision about what YOU want for your baby.... there are plenty of pros and cons |