Calling dog experts - When to let pup roam

[hutash]

Hutash, my golden turns 4 yrs in a week and she stays in the crate for 6-8 hrs on Tue and Th. Would you provide water while she's in the crate?

It is personal preference, but probably not necessary for a four year old. When she hits 9 or 10 I would.

[ikkin]

We are currently facing the same question with our 1.25 year old French Brittany. Right now I'm thinking we'll just continue to crate him indefinitely.

He likes his crate, he voluntarily sleeps and rests in it, and it's really convenient when we take him on the road. We can leave him in his crate in hotels and other people's homes and it works out well for everyone- Rudy gets to sleep in his familiar, comfortable den, and we have absolutely NO worries about him destroying someone else's place if we need to leave him.

I would hate for him to become un-crate trained, so we're going to keep going with it for now. He's comfy and happy in there.