[Potter]

I leave mine upstairs (gated at the stairs). He has his own room where he has a lounger for him to see outside when we are gone and the hallway and the bathroom where I put a pee pad. I close the doors to the other rooms. So far he is happy with the arrangement. He never chews on anything even when he was a pup. He had a full run of the condo we used to live in at 6 months old. I never like to crate my dog and he is pretty well-behaved so I can't find a reason to crate him. The one hour walk each morning drains his energy enough to be well-behaved throughout the day. I am not really agreeing to the crating either. It could pent up the energy in your dog and make behaviour worse if not being drained out. An x-pen is a more versatile idea. You can choose to put a pee pad in there as well to make your dog more comfortable.