hi. i dont know if anybody can help me. im having trouble with my dog at night time. he sleeps in his crate and has done for the last 4 years since we got him but just lately he wont go in, he drags his heels when trying to put him in and starts howling all night which he never used to do. he seems to settle in the livin room where everybody else is but wont settle in the room where he used to sleep. anyone got any advice? I'm worried about him and dont know what could be bothering him.

From what you say he's making it as clear as he can that what's bothering him is being in the crate all night. Is there a reason you crate him at night? If he's happy in the living room why can't he sleep in there?

Hes always been in his crate since having him. the reason we dont want him to sleep in the living room is incase he harms himself and paces up and down all night worrying where we are?

In what way do you anticipate him harming himself? If you've had him 4 years he's beyond the puppy stage so isn't likely to chew through any wires or anything. Not sure why you'd think he's going to pace up and down worrying where you are either, dogs are intelligent. Why not try leaving him out of the crate for a night or two and see how it goes. For whatever reasons of his own he clearly doesn't want to be in it.

Is he 4 years old?

It's the ghosts. Dogs are sensitive to the spirit world.


Tuck him up in bed with you and I'll guarantee he'll be fine.

Would you recommend one of us staying with him the first night or leaving him completely on his own? he was 4 in november.

Just lead him into the crate but leave the door open, stay up for a while in the lounge and let him come and go, then lead him in when you go to bed and leave the crate door open . He will soon get the message, we used a crate until our dog was about 18 months old, now she has the bottom of the house to herself at night apart from the lounge, she has her bed under the stairs and usually sleeps in there all night.
Dont fret, he will pick up on it, if he howls , see if he wants a wee then lead him back into his open crate, within a couple of weeks you should be able to discard the crate and replace it with a lovely comfy bed

Good luck.

Mine have always had the run of the place at night. Assuming he's housetrained shut the doors of rooms you don't want him to go in and he'll decide himself where he wants to sleep - probably on a comfy sofa or next to a radiator. In the 4 years you've had him he'll already know the ins and outs of your bedtime and getting up time so you won't need to go out of your way to stay with him, unless you're ok with him sleeping in your bedroom which I'm sure he'd love. Dogs are pack animals, they get lonely on their own.

For whatever reason he is no longer happy to be sleeping in his crate & to be honest i can't say i blame him!
If he's 4 years old, i'm pretty sure he's old enough to not get into any trouble during the night.
I would just let him sleep in the lounge. Maybe i'm a soft touch, but i don't like the idea of having a dog sleeping all night locked in a crate

There's nothing wrong with crating a dog at night. If anything it helps them to feel more secure - like a den - as long as it's big enough and the dog has access to water. Can't be of any help though I'm afraid OP. It's a fairly peculiar one.


Edit: Saying that, does your dog have access to the crate during the day? Has anyone possibly told him off or done anything (inadvertently) that may have spooked him while he was in his crate recently?

...unless the dog is refusing to go in and howling all night in which case it isn't feeling secure, it's feeling stressed and shouldn't be crated any more.

But there would surely be a reason why after four years he has suddenly begun to behave like this.

Do you use the crate as a punishment if he has been naughty....you know "GET INTO THAT BED & STAY THERE" at him? That will give it negative connotations for him and he will be unhappy there. He CAN be retrained and is just like us and may want a bit of a change in routine/surroundings. Bless him,I know you aren't being cruel but it does sound overly restrictive for a trained 4 yr old. Choose a safe room....no trailing electric wires etc and put his crate in there. Start doing it during the day so he is used to seeing it there and leave the door open so he doesn't feel hemmed in. Also,have you changed his blanket recently ? They HATE that and prefer the familiar.
At one time we had a dog at the same time we were looking after a semi feral cat and if the cat spent any time in the dogs box the dog refused to use it.We had to wash the blanket ,rub the dog with it while it was damp and then dry it outdoors. I hope you get him settled,poor little chap.Let us know how it goes.

Yes but that's the problem, he can't explain why he doesn't want to be in it but he's making it as clear as he possibly can that he has his own reasons for it. I'd have to agree with a previous poster that the owner isn't being cruel but needs to consider that crating the dog does sound overly restrictive, given that there isn't really a valid reason for it being necessary.

I do like your services by the way

If he really MUST be in the crate then I think you need to make it a more positive experience for him (this may have already been suggested).

Forcing him into the crate and telling him off won't help so I think definitely stop dragging him in there as it will only make things worse, positive reinforcement is the best method I think.

How about leaving the crate open all evening with some toys (if he likes toys) and nice comfy blankets inside and perhaps some treats, if he then gets in the crate of his own accord praise him and give plenty of fuss.

leave him on his own, leave the crate door open in case he wants to sleep in there tho

I have 3 dogs, 2 of them have been crated since puppy. We always give them a biscuit when we want them to go in, and they cant go in fast enough. We have the crate open in the daytime and they often go in for a little sleep. And one of my dogs who is very scared of fireworks and such runs into the crate when scared. He oviously feels safe there.
My old dog without a crate goes into one of them when its empty in the day time often as if to say, 'why dont I have one.'

But I agree never put the dog into the crate in anger because they been naughty or such.

Put the crate into your bedroom or a room where other people are sleeping, he's crated then, but with people?

By the way when I got my rescue puppy, the RSPCA are big on crate training, my puppy cried for the first night but then got used to it, though me being soft the crate has now moved from the hallway into my bedroom. Good luck. I wouldn't want the dog pacing while I slept nor would I want her on my bed, so she's crated in her own bed but in my bedroom.

Your dog is 4?

Let it sleep anywhere in the house.

Our lab sleeps mainly downstairs in her dog bed and usually comes up in the morning to tell us its breakfast time.

Sorry i may sound slightly silly for asking this question.. but i was just wondering if a dog is well trained / house trained etc why does it need to be crated on a night?
I understand people crate train puppies , and that dogs are left in them when the owners go out.

But i've never really understood why a dog like the one in question who is 4 years old would need to be put in a crate on a night & not just left to sleep in their bed somewhere like the living room / kitchen?

Just wondered what the reason was behind this.

My dogs consider their crates as their den so to speak, they like being in it. I have to say though, that the door is pushed too (now they are grown up) but not locked. But they stay there and sometimes are still in there, even if we are up and about.

I have had dogs for over 30 years and NEVER used a crate. My dogs do not go upstairs - baby gate used in the early years until they get the message.
I understand the use of them now, mainly for people who are working or leaving the dog for long periods and don't want any damage to the house. However, apart from when teething I have not had one dog that causes damage and I work part time so they are left alone for periods of time.
I do feel that crating a grown dog of 4 years old is cruel - my dogs have the run of downstairs overnight (after toilet training is complete) and never cry, bark, pace up and down or hurt themselves!
They usually settle onto their beds or move onto cooler kitchen floor if it's a warm night.