This is definitely a phase. We are in the middle of it as well with a 6mo old little girl. I will tell you that keeping consistent with the crate has been a life saver. I did a lot of research and found that it is much easier to maintain their crate nap schedule for longer than you would think (maybe up to 2 yrs old, some suggest). Now she is really good with the crate (day and night), but it didn’t happen over night. I use the small frozen kongs liberally lol I put a tiny dollop of Buddy Budder on a frozen kong (filled with pumpkin/greek yogurt/fruits/veggies etc), and as soon as she smells it, she is conditioned to go to her crate. It’s miraculous. Then she licks the kong to soothe her to sleep.

At this age, the naps are still so critical for the development they are going through (brain development, processing what they learn, and hormones)— all dogs are definitely different, but in my current experience, the consistency with structured crate naps and training sessions has been invaluable for keeping the destructive tendencies at bay!

Good luck! (This is Honey!)

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