The dachshunds were crate trained, and most of the time it was nice...except that I always worried that I wouldn’t be home in time or something.
I actually think at this point Cisco would be fine indoors all day *most* of the time. He’s matured a bit, though it can be hard to tell sometimes...
But he does have a warm house, and likes being out. Agreed that a doggie door would probably be the ideal, for a dog that could be trusted and in a situation where I wouldn’t worry about cats. If I ever owned a house again, I think I’d maybe put a dog door into a room that was shut off a bit from the rest of the house, so the cats would be OK and so there wouldn’t be so much cold air flow.
What I’d *really* have trouble living without now is a fenced yard.