[texas*princess]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Violet is a VERY curious dog, and she also has a ton of toys, but no matter how many toys she has, she will sometimes want to chew things that are not her toys which is why I choose to crate her when I can't be home to watch her. Not only is it because I don't want her to chew something that isn't hers, but I also feel better b/c I'd hate for her to do something to hurt herself while I wasn't here.

We have been going on long walks in the evening, and she gets plenty of exercise/play time when I'm home.

Her diet has been the same - I even keep her on a regular eating schedule. I will try putting her food inside her crate and see how that goes. There is plenty of room in her new crate.

When I mentioned that she sleeps in there even when the door is closed, I meant afternoon naps on the weekends b/c I'm home all weekend so I don't crate her w/ the door closed during the day. When she's ready for a nap she will get into her crate and sleep.

Her bedding has changed. In the smaller crate she had a very fluffy blanket. In her new one, I have been using regular bed pillows and put her blanket in there w/ her. (I figured it would be more comfortable). I've bought several back-up pillows in case she has accidents so she won't be in there with a dirty one.

I've scheduled an apt Monday w/ her vet to get her checked out for any medical things that may be causing her problem.

saetx - I will NOT hit my dog, nor will I take her snout and shove it into her mess.