Ike's graduated to sleeping on the floor instead of staying in his crate at night. Funny thing is, he still dives into his crate at bedtime. Habits die hard. Remember that when you're raising your next pup. If you start them out with good habits, chances are you won't have to undo many bad ones.
Ike's still in his crate when we leave the house, of course. We're not crazy.
I'm still trying to figure out if Ike prefers the crate or the dog bed on the floor for his night-sleeping preference. I know I like having Ike sleep on the floor. It's a lot quieter when he's not flailing about in the crate.
I put Ike's dog bed in the exact same spot his crate's been for the past five months. Again, old habits die hard. To Ike, that's his sleeping spot. Only now it's minus the crate.
By the way, we shut the bedroom door at night to minimize the roaming abilities of this seven-month old adolescent Labrador. Again, we're not crazy...