I understand you did not post for advice. So this is not advice for you but a general comment regarding crate training. As we humanize our pets they become increasingly more challenging and less pleasurble to have around. I have seen more people get rid of dogs, send them to the pound or have their homes destroyed as a result of them visualizing themselves in the crate. My dauhter and her husband have a lab that has cost them fortunes in home destruction and still refusal to crate train. Lets remember that the canine species is a denning species and small confined spaces are very natural to them. Of course there needs to be common sense about how it is done, but it is doing the dog a favor. So dont crate train it is of course your home and your property, but I assure everyone that it serves the dog and the owner in the long run. Sorry if this is hijacking a thread, but dont understand the refusal to use a crate to everyones good.
