We picked up a young stray. Too rambunctious to be left out overnight. Well-behaved generally but around 3 am he jumps on top of us and wants to play. Not wo

We picked up a young stray. Too rambunctious to be left out overnight. Well-behaved generally but around 3 am he jumps on top of us and wants to play. Not working. A crate though? Seems barbaric. But we did it gently, in slowly increasing increments. If he became distressed, we let him out. I think that's probably key. Oh, sleepy time? Let's try to get him to do it in the crate for an hour. Then a few hours. Now, around bed time, he goes in on his own, lies down and waits for his treat. He usually prefers to sleep in the crate, and he goes there during thunderstorms too; it's a good safe place. We don't usually have to lock the crate door anymore, but when he's rowdy it's "no! bed!" and he goes and lies down in the crate, and we can cinch him in, for a few more hours of rest. Even that's increasingly rare. I think a major mistake is to use it to separate the dog from people. It's very important that he can hear us nearby, even just sleeping. If he can't hear us, it becomes separation anxiety and he needs to get out because he's trapped in an isolated place. About five minutes out of the bedroom and the whining will start. I'd guess that it's probably also important that it be predictable and associated with daily routines. And it should never be used as punishment.