Two months ago, I adopted an adult 4-year-old dog. Every night after her last walk before bed, I put her in her crate and she'll spend at least 30-60 minutes whining non-stop. After that, she's quiet for the rest of the night.
It doesn't seem to be due to separation anxiety because she doesn't make any noise when she's in a closed room alone but as soon as she's put in the crate, the whining begins. During the day, she'll sometimes go into her crate on her own to nap but I only ever see her doing that if I'm spending time in the same room. The only time I crate her is overnight.
Additional info: Crate size 36" L x 23" W x 25" H and she's medium 48 lbs.
It really pains me to hear her whining every night and I've considered not crating her but I don't want her to get used to it in case I need to crate her in some circumstances. What could be causing this? Should I just ignore it and hope it goes away over time? Should I buy a larger crate?
It doesn't seem to be due to separation anxiety because she doesn't make any noise when she's in a closed room alone but as soon as she's put in the crate, the whining begins. During the day, she'll sometimes go into her crate on her own to nap but I only ever see her doing that if I'm spending time in the same room. The only time I crate her is overnight.
Additional info: Crate size 36" L x 23" W x 25" H and she's medium 48 lbs.
It really pains me to hear her whining every night and I've considered not crating her but I don't want her to get used to it in case I need to crate her in some circumstances. What could be causing this? Should I just ignore it and hope it goes away over time? Should I buy a larger crate?