The Doggie Dilemma

So last Friday I picked up a 6 month old Golden Retriever puppie and brought her home. The deal was that we were watching the dog while her family was travelling and we would decide by Wednesday whether or not we would keep the dog after that (her family can't keep her so they're looking to put it in a friendly home).

Things have gone well with Cali (the dog). She has only messed our carpet one time and that was easily fixed because we've had the carpet shampooer on standby all weekend. The problem is that we are a pretty active family. Carmen and I both work outside the home. We're over at the church at least three nights a week. Angel is in Upward Cheerleading one night a week. Our lifestyle leads to a lot eating on the run and very little hanging around the house.

Cali is "crate" training. I think it's called "crate" training because it sounds a little bit nicer than "cage" training. Basically, when we are not at home she is in a cage. As far as cages go it's very roomy. But it's a cage none-the-less. Once Christmas vacation is over and Carmen goes back to work the dog will be alone in the "crate" for 9 hours every weekday. At least two nights a week we'll get home and quickly feed and walk the dog only to immediately run back out of the house to other obligations. Once the crate training is done (1 year old) supposedly Callie can be left to wander the house and we won't need the cage anymore. But is it ok to keep the dog caged up for 9 hours a day for the next 6 months?