Doggy on it's own;Advice sought for potential new dog owner.

krlyr

Crates are sort-of new - been around quite a few years now but slowly rising in popularity. Personally, I've never really bothered but I can see their perks. Not quite that convenient with two large breed dogs in a smallish house, there's just no where practical to set up two XL crates! I do use babygates to achieve a similar-ish item, I can confine them to set rooms when I need them out of my way for practical reasons.
Think of a crate as a doggy four poster bed rather than a cage. You're not locking them away all day - the recommended length of time is about 4 hours max. So if you worked all day, this could be from 8.30 to 12.30, a break at lunchtime with you/a walker, and then 1.30 to 5.30. Ideally you should try to avoid shutting the dog up in the evenings when you've already shut it away a fair amount during the day. You can reap the benefits of a crate without even locking the door too, many dogs just prefer to have an enclosed area to sleep in. Make it a "relaxing zone" by not letting anyone interact with the dog while they're in the crate (especially children, who can forget that the dog may enjoy some peace and quiet at times).
Crates also have the benefit of being a portable comfort zone. If you visit relatives or go to a holiday cottage, for example, you can whack the crate in the car with you and set it up in the new house, and the dog has somewhere familiar to take itself off to if it's feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the new stuff - and you can shut it in to prevent damage to someone else's house (or to your dog, if their house isn't particularly dog-friendly!)

Dollardog

My dog had been a show dog before I had him and was used to being in a crate. I borrowed the crate for a while when I first had him, but ended up keeping it as he loves it, it is his 'den'. I never actually close the door, its open all the time but he still spends a lot of time in there as that is where his bed is.