Our situation may be different than yours but when Zoey was a pup, I was using the crate to potty train. I had it in a large ex pen in our master bedroom. I would close her in at night and she would let me know when she had to use the bathroom. The first couple of nights there was a lot of whining and some barking too. I would give her two 'freebies' where I would open the crate to see if she needed to potty and if not, she went back in. After a couple of nights, she learned the system and was fine.
I would note that she sometimes will whine now but that is usually if she can not see me, so I roll over to make sure she can, blow her kisses and she is fine. Now we do not close her crate but it remains in the ex pen and she sometimes sleeps there or in her bed in the open space of the pen. She has her water, a couple of toys that are safe without supervision, and piddle pad and she is great. The crate is also an open one, that she can easily see out. The only exception to this is in the winter, I use the cover I have (matches the bumper and cumfy bed) to give her a little more insulation - but she can still see out the full front.
Like I said, she may be different than your little Toby but I do think that her being able to see us and knows that we too, are going to sleep - gives her comfort.
Best of luck! |