As of Monday, mine don't sleep in their individual crates any more.
As some of you know, I have been trying to solve the problem of a Basenji with extreme separation anxiety for over a year now. My Basenjis have always had their own plastic crates, and Keoki has had an ex-pen around his so that he could be "free" even while locked up. He had gotten so bad that the ex-pen was being dragged across the room while we were gone, and he'd torn his nose up on a couple of times.
We'd tried crating him with Jazzy, but he's too big for that now and she hated it.
I found an ad on Craigslist for a large wire crate for $40.00, and figured as a last ditch effort I would try the wire crate inside the ex-pen and at least he would not be able to eat any more of the crate. {I hadn't tried a wire crate just yet as I'd already sunk a few hundred dollars into the ex-pens and plastic crates and Dh was not into spending more to possibly not solve the problem. But $40.00 seemed reasonable to me it's like half-price!}
Well, the "crate" turned out to be very large, and both Basenjis love it!
As soon as we put it together, Keoki went in and wouldn't let Jazzy in. She kept trying to get in, and he'd sit at the gate and slap her head with his paw. LOL
So, we put BOTH dogs' beds in the wire crate, and they've been happily sleeping in it all week. When we left them alone the other day – this is when Keoki always totally wigs out -- we came home to happy pups and even the paper towels we'd left inside the crate were still intact.
So, this is their new digs; they love it. There's ample room for both their snuggly beds and still room left over to stand or play. No one is cramped. It's great. And the best part is, Keoki doesn't seem to mind too badly being left home in it.