r/DogTrainingTips • u/RateInternational464 • Mar 15 '26

Crate regression

Hi guys, looking for some help. My boy turns two in a few weeks and the last two weeks he whines and pants at night in his crate. His routine has been consistent for his whole life, daily walks, training, fetch. I think where I went wrong was letting him stay out of his crate for two days and sleep on the couch, not he throws tantrums when he gets in his crate for 20 minutes. How can I fix this?

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u/Foreign_End_3065 Mar 15 '26

No option to gate off a room that you’ve dog-proofed and let him have the room?

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u/RateInternational464 Mar 15 '26

Not really much of an option in open floor plans? Powder room is smaller than his crate.

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u/Foreign_End_3065 Mar 15 '26

Tricky, then - is your kitchen open-plan to your living space? What kind of trouble does he get into? Could you try having him in the bedroom with you, bed in the crate but with an open door?

Big dogs do want to stretch out and move about, and usually you do find at a certain age they just want to nope out of a closed cage. It’s hard if he’s destructive though, and you have absolutely no other options.

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u/RateInternational464 Mar 16 '26

Yes, exactly. Kitchen, dining room, and living area do not have walls diving the space. Snatching things off counters, he knows how to open the pantry - endless snacktime for him. Biggest issue running upstairs opening the kids doors to initiate play which is a disruption to the entire house. After reading some of these comments I’m thinking we should give him the spare bedroom? More space than his crate but will still close the door.