For about a week now Appa won't calm down at night. He's fed, watered, bathroomed, exercised, and mentally stimulated, and he justa pants and paces all night until bed time. On our walks he seems distracted. I've tried increasing his exercise thinking it might be the colder weather and increased energy, but it has no effect other than he pants even harder while pacing. He also struggles to settle down and sleep at night. His appetite and water consumption are normal. Stool is normal. In the mornings hes verry clingy before we go to work, but at lunch he's perfectly normal. Any guesses what might be going on? We did stop crating him and baby gate (2 high) in a room with toys, bed, and water. Think he's just stressed about the change? Even a week later?

I think I remember that he's about Sabaka's age...?? And, you know, Sabaka does the same thing! If we introduce a new chew toy, he enjoys that. But most evenings it's just constant panting and pacing. I wouldn't say he's stressed. I think he's bored. I just wish he would chew his antler or his Nylabone or something...

Sabaka's been doing this for quite some time now...

If you don't have the crate set up I would bring it out again and see if things change. Cheyenne was very upset when we took away her crate initially. We brought it back out about 3 months ago and she will go in there a lot by herself just to be alone.

Hes 9 months now, how old is sabaka? I guess as a teenager I moped around the house saying "I'm bored..." myself. Maybe it's the equivalent.

He grew out of his crate and don't want to buy another. He's so good we're working up to "run of the house" status. His crate is big enough for short uses, but it's too small for all day at work. My wife is starting to work less, so it seems silly to buy a big one for a few more months, then he'll rarely (if ever) be crated.

By bring it out I meant make it available- not necessarily crate him

Ah.... Smart. I'll try that tomorrow.

Sabaka is 10 months old. We have always had his crate upstairs and we block off the stairs in the evenings. I, too, have wondered if he would like access to his crate. He seems happy when we go upstairs for laundry or to veg. He'll grab a crate toy and lay on the bed chewing. He hardly ever chews downstairs. We still crate Sabaka, so I don't want to permanently move the crate downstairs nor do I want to lug it down every evening.

I will be interested to hear if Appa pants and paces less once he has his crate again. I might be willing to move Sabaka's if I knew it would make a difference.

My dogs are primarily outdoors now that we're living with my mother in law. They have very nice kennels and an air conditioned/ heated doghouse. I bring one or two in on the weekends. When I bring Nova in I have to set up her crate because otherwise she will just pace the house nonstop. As soon as I put it up she just lays down in it, door open the whole time.