Please can I ask for some advice. I have a one year old working cocker spaniel who is crate trained and sleeps overnight in her crate with no worries and never any objections.

I don't work, so she is pretty much always with me. If there is someone home she never goes in the crate during the day and choses to sleep on the sofa or just on the carpet. If I do go to do the shopping or pop out for something she goes in the crate and settles down quickly and quietly. But, until now I have never left her alone more than an hour and a half.

With lock down, and not being able to do very much this has been completely sufficient. However, I would like the opportunity, at times, to leave her for longer periods (I'm talking absolute limit 3-4 hours, and only very occasionally.) In this instance I would prefer to leave her out of the crate, just so she has more room and she is not then confined overnight and for a chunk of the day.

She's just come into season and so I have tried to use this as a tester to leave her uncrated at home while I'm on the half hour school run. She is not destructive at all - but she does bark - a lot. (To quantify. She is a bit of a nervous barker. She barks at people out the front window and at any bumps and noises she does not recognise, as well as if there is a knock on the door - but this is never really for long, just to show us what's going on and then she settles down.) So far, when I leave her without being in the crate she barks all the time I'm away (so I'm guessing she's really quite anxious.)

A a small addition, I wanted to add that when we are at home and she really wants to chill and get away from everything she pulls herself under my sofa (which is a really tiny space and much more confined than her crate) and will happily stay there for a good couple of hours out of choice.

Sorry, this is a really long way of asking, am I being precious about not wanting to leave her for a bit longer in the crate if I'm going out ( very occasionally)? It seems she feels safer and calmer there when there is no one in the house.

Also, does anyone have any training advice in what I could try to get her used to being on her own in the house and out of the crate without feeling anxious?

Thanks so much!