Our dog, yellow lab, will be 2 in a couple weeks. We have two crates, one in our bedroom and one in the kitchen/family room. He is fine if left for a short time, and actually usually crates himself. It's his comfort spot. He really doesn't need to be crated at night, so I ordered him.a nice bed from Frontgate for our room. I'd like to put that crate away and have him sleep on the dog bed. He does like to sleep in our room. He doesnt sleep well if he's downstairs. We don't let him sleep in the kids' rooms because he eats stuffed animals and there would be a massacre, lol.

As for food, check dogfoodadvisor.com. We feed Fromm's and have been very happy with it. You can't switch all at once though. We switched out dog and you have to start out adding the new food a little at a time. Otherwise you risk diarrhea.

Good luck!