What do you mean by “crate” here? Is it just a basket with something that is warm and smells like home to the dog, or is it something that is confining him/her?
It’s a cage. Many people swear by them. I’ve never been a fan. But they can be useful in housebreaking. Usually the door is left open after the dog has grown used to it and it has become the dogs safe area. My old room mates dog would run to his crate during a storm. I bought a Doggloo (no door) for Chuck but he rarely uses it.
The key to crate training is never to use it as punishment. It should always be a safe place.
Concur that Cooper will do better if he sleeps near you (he doesn’t have to get on the bed; just having a bed of his own in your room will really help).
So, for porties, is it better that they sleep in the same room with their human? I don’t want Cooper to have separation anxiety or needyness issues, but I also don’t want him to fear being alone
Is the PWD particularly human focused?
Maybe it’d be better to let him sleep with his “pack”, and then crate him for a few hours during the day when people are at work, and gradually increase alone time by an hour or so every day, that way he’ll learn “alone time” is not scary and come to appreciate bedtime with family members more…
Or, the alternative is to let him bark it out in the evening and just pop in some earplugs