Still Crating.......

Travis is almost 9 years old and he still crates at night and still crates during the day. I hate that he spends so much time in a crate, but he leaves me no options. In the morning, he is quick to rise and starts crying. I am definitely not one to let my dogs decide when we get up, but its an all out battle to get him to stop. I am almost to the point of thinking that he cannot physically stop himself. Its like breathing. So life is just easier if he sleeps crated in another room. During the day, I had tried to leave him confined to the dog room with Katie, but he started to chew on the window trim. I have no idea why he does this. He does not have separation anxiety. The truly unusual part of this is that instead of chewing the totally exposed wood, he wedges himself between a crate and the window and chews on the trim there. It is very strange. Bitter Apple has not detered him, so its back to crating.