Yeah, you gotta be the alpha dog or they will act out in all sorts of ways. Little dogs usually have a higher incidence of this because people think it's cute when they do crap that would earn a big dog an ass beating. And most people's problems with dogs stem from them not exercising their dogs enough. My aunt's boxer is a rough ridin' spaz because she never walks it and he stays in a crate all day during work/school hours.
yeah, this is where my job comes in handy, I'm home for 48 straight hours and at work for just 24. So when I'm home he's never in his kennel, unless I go out for something. and when I'm at work, he's only in his kennel until the wife gets home from work, then she usually takes him for a run or something.
Also, he's pretty good about entertaining himself in the backyard. He will just run in circles for 20-30 minutes, then come inside and sleep for 4-5 hours. then repeat.
Even though I'm technically breaking the law by having him in the city, I've never had any problems. I even walked him right by some animal control people a few months ago, and they just told me he was a good looking dog.