Lab afraid of crate

Question
I have a 1 year old Chocolate Lab. She was crate trained from the time we got her. Loved her crate. However, now all of a sudden she refuses to go into her crate. She is scared to death of it. I have to literally push her in. What could have changed this so sudden? The crate is in the garage. I tried bringing the crate indoors, but still the same result. Thanks for the help!

Answer
There could be several things that happened, some sort of a negative experience, or maybe you were forced to leave her too long.  I would try offering her praise and treats for going in.  You could try leaving her a Kong filled with peanut butter and frozen.  Did she have an accident?  Try cleaning it good with an enzyme cleaner.  

If she isn't spayed and hasn't had her first season, or had it early, she could be coming into season and unusual behavior is to be expected.  

She could be maturing and challenging your leadership.  The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ For more on being top dog, see http://www.dogbreedinfo.com./topdogrules.htm