Cruel Penalty

Why ever would someone want a dog to keep on a rope or chain out in the yard or in a pen that permits no real movement?  Do they not know that animals grow?  They do not, and had not meant to, stay cute.  Is this tying-up and penning a penalty imposed upon their aging?  Is that the meaning of this exile?  If so, why are they so willing to display their ignorance and what seems such cruel behavior?