Crate re-training? Help!
My goldendoodle puppy is 7 months old, we've had him about 4 months now.
We started crating him from Day 1, but only at night. He wouldn't stay in there during the day, but once he was half asleep at night he wouldn't care if we put him in there and would settle pretty quickly until around 6 a.m. when we'd take him out.
But as soon as he entered the dreaded adolescent phase a few weeks ago he stopped going in there even at night. Gets up and runs away from me if I even just stand up around bedtime.
We asked a trainer who said he may have developed a strong negative association with the crate. So we started letting him sleep wherever he wanted (sometimes our bed, sometimes other spots around the house).
He's technically fine outside the crate and sleeps through the night without accidents or destroying anything, but now I'm worried he won't ever go back to the crate if there's any situation where we need him to.
I've started dropping treats in there at random times during the day but he'll only go and eat them if I'm not standing close enough to potentially close the door.
How do I get him comfortable with the crate again, or is it too late now? Any advice much appreciated!