tie it up? or let it loose?....

My dogs are only on a leash when I walk them. When I am gone for the house for awhile, I do put them in their crates, which they sleep in at night. They are used to it though as they have been using the crates sinc they were puppies. In fast, they know what their crate is and they will run to it and go inside when they want to go to sleep at night. I know that people might think I am cruel for using crates, but I so it to keep them contained, so they don't get into things at night or when I am gone. Other than that, they are out of their crates all day long and they sleep on my eashy chair while I am on the computer. Happy mylotting to you.