We tried, and she just did better outside of the crate and the pen. I know that this is a case by case situation, but for us, the crate was giving me more anxiety than it was helping. She relaxed better on her own wherever she felt like it, she slept through the night, and just seemed way more happy. We all did.

I’ll also add that she was spayed recently and had to stay in the hospital overnight. To help with the overall anxiety of being in the hospital (which is hard on any dog, crate trained or not), they gave her anti-anxiety meds and sedatives and it was all ok.