I think there is a difference between your kid being in a playpen while you clean the floors or something and your dog being in a cage all day while you're not home.
Dogs grow older quicker than kids. So while your child grows to be 2 years old, your dog would have aged faster than that because their life spans are shorter than humans. So, to me, leaving a 2 year old dog in a cage while you go to work is like leaving your teenage son in a playpen. Training starts when they're puppies but at some point, they become adults. And as they become adults, they are able to hone their instincts and habits that these dogs were bred for.
I'll give you an example: when archie was a baby, he would go to the bathroom while standing on all four legs. as he grew older, he started to lift his leg. and now, he goes to the bathroom and kicks the dirt to bury it. I didn't teach him this. He learned it himself and because he socializes with other dogs.
he's also a terrier and has terrier instincts. he does great with digging up buried stuff. as a matter of fact, he hunts balls. I take him to the park every day and for the past 5 days in a row, he has managed to hunt down and find a ball in the bushes. We also play a game where I hide a ball under a blanket and he goes in and gets it. He didn't do this stuff as a small puppy, but he did get the opportunity to hone his terrier instincts. |