[Bayoucorgi]

I've had a Corgi for 5 days! Yippee! He's 8 months old and came from Corgi rescue. I was told he was crated for up to 22 hours per day in his old home because his owners returned to school. I'm glad they were selfless and let me adopt this wonderful dog.

My husband has never used a crate. I used to show and train and crate-trained everyone. We are arguing about how much crate time is reasonable.

I work 4-10 hour shifts at a hospital and my husband works from a home-office. I get up at 5am, feed puppy breakfast and let him out in our fenced yard while I shower, then I put him in our downstairs bathroom with toys and I leave for work. He plays in there until everyone else gets up about an hour later. He's out to run around while the kids get ready and leave. He can't stay loose in the bathroom while my husband is working because it is next to his office and he barks sometimes when my husband is on the phone.

I told my husband to put him back in the crate until lunch time - about 4 hours. At lunch he can go out in the yard or be in the house supervised for an hour. Then back to the crate for 3 hours until the kids get home. Then he's out for the rest of the afternoon and evening with us.

This means he will be in the crate 7 hours per day - 4 days per week. He is out almost all of the time on my day off and weekends, unless we are not home.

Is DH right - is this too much? Or is it reasonable until we are more confident that puppy can be trusted? He's already chewed up two handmade baskets when DH let him run wild in the house unsupervised. This dog is comfortable in his crate - has a Kong, chewies, and a ball in there at all times. As he gets older and more trustworthy, he can be out more. Help!