You may note that my understanding of the chaining situation is reflective of evidence rather than cause and effect.
Chaining is only necessary when proper training was not begun at an early age and did not instill the proper pack behaviors.
Chaining does not directly CAUSE bad behaviors as much as it compounds them and is evidence that bad behaviors already exist.
Chaining will also NEVER remediate bad behaviors and will more than likely exacerbate them. Chaining IS a punishment, it is NOT a modification to itself, unless used within a retraining regimen.
Leaving a dog chained for hours is cruelty. It is abandonment. The dog would be better off put down.
Caged, if the cage is 10 or more times the size of the dog id acceptable for periods of 12 hours or less. Smaller cages for 2 hours, such as a trip are also ok, but not as a daily occurrence.
My 2cents on the matter.
Lots of highly general opinions being expressed here. Irish Setters are hunting dogs, and my property is about 30 acres which does contain Bobwhite quail. The dogs will absolutely go quail hunting on their own at the first opportunity.
They have a large pen, but prefer to be chained in good weather because they are chained near the door where people go in and out and they get much more attention and pats on the head than when in their pen. But they are out an hour or two or more per day depending on whose around to take them out or watch them.
But it they aren’t penned or chained, especially at night, they might be miles away before anyone knows, or stolen, or run over by an automobile.
With as many breeds as there are, with various instincts and temperaments, and all the possible situations the owners and dogs might live in, anyone dispensing all this highly general advice cannot be taken seriously.